Challenge: The Rise of the Blonde Godaime
by Alucard1959
Summary: This new idea for a story comes from a challenge given to me by Lawrence Helmbain. What happens when you give a young, innocent, blonde child a mutation that has never been heard of? You get one of the most influential and ground-breaking asset to the Ninja world. NaruxMikotoxKushina, strong Naru, Not godlike, M rating for suggestive themes, language, and violence
1. Chapter 1

The challenge is from Lawrence Helmbain; I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

**Challenge: The Rise of the Blonde Godaime**

**I own Nothing**

**Prologue**

"Jiji, Jiji! Look at this, look, look!" an energetic little mop of blonde hair giggled, watching a strong shelled Rhino Beetle crawl across his arm, it's tiny little legs tickling the boy's sun kissed skin.

"Naruto-kun, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't run too far from the path, it's very dangerous," a man by the name of Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, walking behind the curious little tike as he couldn't help but smile at the boy's whimsy and splendor. This man who has been nicknamed "Jiji" from the blonde boy was one of the most powerful Shinobi known to the elemental nation.

Age might have robbed him of his vin, vigor, and vitality but it's given him something far more valuable, knowledge and experience. In his prime he was hailed as a God of the Shinobi, trained by his teacher and first Hokage Hashirama Senju, a godlike man who could lay waste to a hundred armies with his famous Kekkei Genkai alone. Anyone trained by a hero like that deserved that title.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, once of age, followed in his master's footsteps and became the third Hokage, the leader of a land called Konohagakure, a place also known as the Land of fire, a wonderful piece of land filled to the brim with those who held in their hearts and souls the will of fire.

"Awe, come on Jiji, I wasn't even that far. I was like 2 feet off the stupid path!" Naruto whined, being lightly pulled from his little piece of buggy entertainment, keeping him now locked on the set path. The dirt road was becoming more narrow, actually ending very soon up ahead to make way for the drastic change in weather. The beautiful greenery and the luscious foliage was soon replaced by dunes of sand and blazing hot wind, the terrain giving way to a desert. The desert, a harsh unforgiving setting for our character's journey but an understandable one, the Hokage had much planned for this trip and he wasn't going to let a little bit of sand stop him.

"Jiji, what are you doing?" The little boy questioned, watching his supposed grandfather wrap a few pieces of cloth around his and the boy's head, covering their mouth and skin from the harsh elements, only leaving a small opening for their eye sight.

"Its protection Naruto-kun, wouldn't want you to get sand in your eyes." The Hokage said kindly, showing the care that he had for the boy, wishing no harm to ever befall him which actually is one of the reasons why he was on this trip to begin with.

The child's name was Naruto Uzumaki, a small blonde 5 year old who, from the day he was born, was destined for a life of misery but, in an odd sense, his curse can bring much happiness as well.

A heavy burden has been trusted to this small child before he was even able to crawl; he was the container of a demonic entity that could only be known by one name, the Kyuubi. A monstrous nine-tailed fox that tormented the great Konoha not so long ago, in fact, about 5 years from this very day.

"Jiji, why are we going through a dessert on my Birthday? Is their Ice cream in this dessert?" Naruto asked excitedly, his head resting on his grandfather's shoulder while the old man begins to carry Naruto through the unforgiving tundra.

"It's pronounced desert Naruto-kun, not dessert and don't you worry, there will be plenty of ice cream and even cake when we arrive in Sunagakure. We'll eat ourselves silly," The old man insured, patting the young lad on the back as he feels the little rugrat tense up when the roaring winds started to pick up. "It's alright Naruto-kun, just keep your eyes closed and don't let go." was the final words uttered by the Third Hokage as the winds picked up even further, making his words muffled under the powerful gusts of air and sand.

"_Don't worry my boy; I'll make sure this birthday is better than any you have ever had. I swear!" _

**Kazekage Tower: 5 minutes before**

"Lord Kazekage, there is someone wishing to see you," the secretary spoke, popping her head into the Kazekage's private office, "he says he has an appointment but I don't see-"

"Its fine, let him in," The Kazekage ordered, his head resting on his raised arm, a bored expression gracing his aging face. Now, don't get me wrong, he was only in his 40's and he didn't look a day over 20 when he first took over as the Fourth Kazekage, but the hectic schedule and the unrealistic amount of stress was getting to him.

His first few years were rather eventful, he was loved by all in his village, he kept the council in line, he ran the economy smoothly, and he was even able to keep a happy family life on the side. Yep, everything seemed to fit perfectly…..until…..that day.

It all started like any other normal Saturday morning, he would wake up, give his pregnant wife a kiss good morning, see his kids off to the Academy, and head towards the Kazekage tower, ready to tackle the new day. But, unfortunately, that's when everything went downhill. He was visited by the Land of wind's Daimyo who was ADAMANT to see him, almost to the point of being uncharacteristically pushy.

When the Fourth and the Daimyo arrived in his private office he was slapped with the news that Sunagakure's budget was being cut down to an unrealistic degree. The Fourth questioned this reckless decision but he was only met with a "because I say so", or, "because of reasons", which didn't help the fourth's mood at all.

Once the new budget was finally implemented their original trade roots became too expensive for Suna to pay for, limiting their options until they had to take on Konohagakure's less expensive services, driving them even more into the shitter. The cheap services and lack of help with their already crumbling budget made The Fourth Kazekage very desperate, his village was in danger of extinction so he had to think of more…..drastic measures to throw his support behind. In order to prevent the downfall of the village he worked so hard to protect, he decided to focus on increasing the quality of the ninjas in the village, trying to create a better economy focused solely on the money earned from missions created by other, less fortunate villages.

But what was he missing? He couldn't compete with such big names as Konoha and Kumo without one crucial piece of power…..the Jinchuuriki. He ordered his most elite ninjas to track down the last Bijuu that hasn't been captured, the one that has lived peacefully in the sand dunes of the Suna border for over 3 decades, the Shukaku. Once they found and agitated the beast, they lured it towards the village just 5 weeks before his third and youngest son was predicted to be born.

He didn't want this for his son, he really didn't, what kind of father would want to push such a burden on his child? But it had to be done; everyone made sacrifices in dark times such as these. So, he ordered Chiyo to seal the demon raccoon in his unborn son Gaara…...but his rush to make his village stable once more came at a cost.

Unbeknownst to him, as his wife started to give birth 3 weeks before the targeted safe zone, the seal and the Shukaku's raging chakra was too much for the already weakened Karura. After countless hours of trying to keep the dwindling soul of Karura alive, she passed away, a smile on her face as she held her small little baby boy in her arms.

Blinded by the loss of his beloved wife and ignorant to his hand in her demise, he cursed the demon spawn of his own creation and decided to create a weapon, a pure monster incarnate. He was going to turn his son into the very beast that lives within his tampered seal!

And that is the man, the twisted, depraved man that sits before you. A person truly eaten up by his own grief and hardships, this is the dictator that is feared throughout his entire village, especially from his children.

"Hai, Lord Kazekage" his subordinate bowed respectfully, allowing the newcomer to stroll into the Kazekage's private office, giving the Fourth a good look at this man who demands his attention.

This stranger was very tall with lightly tanned skin and waist-length black hair. He had a long face with pronounced cheekbones, golden eyes with slits in his pupils and dark markings around his eyes. The man's attire consisted of a plain grey garb with a black polo neck seen under it, while he wore a matching pair of black pants and a thick purple rope belt tied in a large knot behind his back with blue tomoe-shaped earrings.

"Ah, Kazekage-sama, it is a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance," the tanned man spoke, bowing slightly to show the expected respect of a designated Kage.

"And who might you be? Mr…." The fourth questioned, scanning the man who took a seat before him. The man walked with the grace and dignity of an aristocrat, his arms folded in front of him while he sauntered towards a chair. His grace was matched with the animalistic stare he gave the Fourth, even though his smile betrayed a friendly aura his eyes glistened with malicious intent.

"My name is not important, Lord Kazekage, the information that I wish to share with you is." he spoke slyly, sliding one of his gangly legs over the other to give him a more proper demeanor. His statement caught the attention of the stoic red head; he couldn't help but wonder what this info could possibly be.

"And what, pray tell, is this information?" he questioned.

"I am an ambassador for a growing village called Oto un Kuni, I was sent here by the Kage of my village to offer you a deal, a very promising deal if I do say so myself." He uttered smoothly. Oto un Kuni, a very new and inexperienced village that started up possibly 10 months or so, the Land of Sound is a neighboring country of the Land of Fire, also known as Konoha, the only trading root that Suna could afford. From what the Fourth has heard, this Oto un Kuni is a relatively new country in the political scene, though it has existed for some time under the name of the Land of Rice Fields, or Ta no Kuni.

According from the Intel his roaming spies were able to gather, a man, name unknown, conquered the Land of Rice Fields and convinced the Daimyo of the land to let him establish his own ninja village, thus Oto un Kuni was born.

While Oto un Kuni is a relatively "new" village it has gotten a very strong followings. The country was said to home many shinobi clans who had been used in a hopeless war, probably the last Great War. The clan's suffered heavy losses, both in family and homes, so the remaining survivors of those clans joined the Otokage, lured by the power he promised to them all to revive their clans.

"And what deal might this be?" he asked, keeping his intrigue hidden from the ambassador, _"this is getting more and more interesting." _

The sly Ambassador held back a slick grin, his smirk barely being contained, "he wanted to help a fellow village in need, and he wishes to help you with your crumbling infrastructure, maybe even raise your village's budget."

His statement both shocked and intrigued the Fourth, " H-How do you know about my village's budget issue? That's strictly confidential!" he hissed, gripping the base of his desk. _"How dare he" _he thought, _"That slim Daimyo must have leaked my village's secret" _the more he thought over it the more his pride, not only as a man but a leader, was beginning to feel more and more wounded by the minute.

"Our Kage has his ways, he is quite resourceful when he wants something. How do you think he was able to conquer the Land of Rice Fields single handedly?" The Ambassador questioned, bring up a rather good point.

"With all due respect to you Kage, but even my village in its condition could probably have taken the Land of Rice Fields with little to no problem." Said the Fourth, stating a fact while also trying to send a dig at the Land of Sound's supposed Kage. "Rice Fields had a minimal military force that would run at any sign of danger."

One glance at the Ambassador and anyone would notice his grip on his bicep has tightened, "be that as it may, I am not here to argue my Kage's feats with you. I am here to simply offer you my lord's more than gracious offer."

The fourth Kazekage pondered on the deal, it would be foolish to pass up such an offer. It would be an answer to his unspoken prayers; he could finally feed the starving families that inhabited this once wealthy village.

He could bring much needed prosperity to this dying desert of a village, but…..it couldn't be this easy, nothing is in this world is that simple. What does Oto un Kani want in return? No village, especially a village under new management, would help another without a stipulation.

"If I'm not mistaken, a deal is not just one sided," pointed out the fourth, "I am wondering what your Otokage would want from my village for such a tremendous feat on his part."

The sly smile returned on the Ambassador's long face as his eye seemed to be glowing in the low candlelight, "Nothing get's past you, does it Lord Kazekage? I guess that is why you hold the title."

"You're right; my lord is willing to give you and your village economic and financial stability for just one favor."

"What is the favor? I am getting rather tired of this constant back and forth." He said, taking on a more serious glare while his temper began to bubble. If there's one thing the Fourth is known for it is his unbridled rage towards those who beat around the bush; it wastes his time and his time is quite valuable.

"I can't say," he stated calmly, shrugging at the question, "he didn't tell me the favor, he just told me to tell you that he wishes for one single favor that can be cashed in, in the foreseeable future. How does that sound to you, Lord Kazekage?"

"Absolutely ludicrous!" he uttered loudly, standing from his chair to glare over the still seated Ambassador, "that is too high of an offer to ask of me, I'm sorry but I decline this heinous offer of yours."

Now it was the Ambassador's turn to adopt a more serious glare as he brushed a single strand of his long, black hair from his vision, "Lord Kazekage…...how are your children?"

"W-What?" He questioned, shocked at the random and actually rather creepy question.

"You have what, 2-3 children? How do you think the feel living in this unstable sand pit?" The Ambassador asked sternly, his glare never leaving the Fourth's slightly widened eyes. "How does your youngest feel knowing his father turned him into a monster?"

"H-How do you-" He began to question only to be silenced by the Ambassador's harsh tone.

"Like I said before, our Otokage is quite resourceful when he wants something and what he wants is just a small promise that you will fulfill at a later date." He hissed as his animalistic orbs began to flare. "You know, we have learned quite a lot about you and your family."

"How dare you!" Roared the Fourth, his eyes glazed over with a fire that rivaled the stare of death itself, "you have no righ-"

"Oh I think I do, Lord Kazekage," he interrupted once more, standing from his seat, his height dwarfing that of the Fourth's, "To understand your ally you must know what drives him. We are willing to stake ourselves and our village on you, Lord Kazekage. You must be willing to trust us."

The Fourth, now speechless, stared at the taller Ambassador with a mix of thoughtful gaze and a perplexed ponderment, could he trust them? What could this favor be exactly? Could it lead to the complete destruction of his precious village, or maybe it could lead to its salvation. All he knew right now was the Third Hokage should be arriving at any moment to revamp the treaty between them and that this man and his village are offering something that can make or break his village.

He looked towards the patiently waiting Ambassador, taking one last glimpse of this man before he came to a decision. "I must have more time to think on this, Ambassador. This is a very tall order and I must consult with my advisers before I put myself and my village's safety in harm's way."

The Fourth noticed the slight disappointment that came over the respected official's face, but it was quickly wiped away as he adopted a more professional look and bowed, "as you wish, Lord Kazekage."

"I can give you refuge here for about a week or so, we can discuss this tomorrow, 7 a.m. sound fair?" The Kazekage questioned, quickly pulling out a pen and a pad and began writing down the date.

"Hai, Lord Kazekage. And a thousand pardons if I insulted you during this meeting. I know it must have seemed like I was overstepping my boundaries but-" The Ambassador began to apologize only to be stopped by the simi-kind words of the Kazekage.

"It's quite alright, you did what you thought was right. I must commend your bravery," he said with a small smile, signaling for his Sand Secret Task Force (SSTF) from the shadows, "but if you ever bring up my family again, I will pump you full of gold dust until it leaks from every pour on your body! Am I understood?!"

"H-Hai, crystal clear Lord Kazekage," The Ambassador trembled out, bowing once again as he was terrified of what the Kazekage could do, "it won't happen again."

"Indeed, it better not." He ordered, waving the SSTF towards the Ambassador, "make sure our guest finds his way to a hotel, I wouldn't want him getting lost."

**Present: Kazekage Tower's Waiting Room**

"Jiji, I'm so bored!" An energetic toddler whined, hanging from his designated chair while the Hokage sits in the next chair over, watching the child's exploits with a smile, "we've been here forever!"

With a light chuckle, Sarutobi pulls the hyper munchkin back into his chair while he says, "Calm yourself Naruto-kun, you mustn't draw too much attention to yourself. And besides, we just got here, how could you possibly be bored?" Even though he knew the answer to that foolish question, with Naruto being the energetic twerp he is, he can't help but be hyper and loud; it was like watching a small, blonde pup, running around like he has no care in the world. It was good to see him like that; it's been very long since he has had the luxury of being a normal child.

"Why can't I draw attention to myself, Jiji? I want everyone to know the name Naruto Uzumaki! The great and powerful!" he giggled, jumping to his chair's handrail as he rears back and screams his name to the few people in the room. Thinking he was a nut, many of the people inside the room backed away or switched seats so they could get far away from the attention seeking Jinchuuriki.

Sarutobi couldn't help but laugh once more at Naruto's antics, but his smile soon turned into a hardened line when he noticed a tall, black haired figure walk past the waiting room. He was a towering fellow; his long black hair reached his waist while his attire was strangely familiar to the aging Kage. _"Is that…...It couldn't be. He wouldn't be so foolish as to run into a ninja village with a high bounty on his head. I must be seeing things," _

While the old geezer began to question his own deteriorating eyesight, the Ambassador had his own thoughts running through his head, _"The Hokage?! Here!? Damn, I thought I was one step ahead of those Konoha bastards!" _ his angry thoughts were soon quelled as his keen eyesight caught a glimpse of the Hokage wrangling up a blonde little boy who was now giggling at the attention. _"A boy, hmmmm? I guess the old geezer decided to bring along a little brat. I wonder why?" _

"Lord Hokage?" The secretary questioned, snapping the Hokage from his own thoughts.

"Yes, madam?" he answered.

"Lord Kazekage is ready to see you, please follow me," declared she, waving the brittle brawler to follow. He stood and was ready to leave only to feel his robe's coattail being tugged on. He looked down to see a worried eyed Naruto who had the Hokage's robes in a vice like grip in his tiny little hands.

"Jiji, where are you going?" He whispered, his anxiety was clear on his face as his eyes began to dart around the room, almost petrified at the new faces and what they were capable of.

"I have to go Naruto-kun, It'll only take a minute or two." The kind senior spoke, patting the young blonde on his head, "I need you to stay here. I'll be back faster than you can say-"

"Don't leave me, please, I'm scared" he muttered, his previous confidence now fading as he began to revert to his usual, fearful self.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. Nothing will happen to you, I swear." Promised Sarutobi, smiling warmly towards his surrogate grandson,

"B-But, you said that before. You always say that…..and nothing ever changes." Naruto mumbled, quickly wiping his damp eyes on the Kage's robs, "w-what happens if they start to hurt me like the others do? What if they start yelling mean words at me? W-What if-"

Naruto's words were muffled out when he was brought into a tight, bear hug from his Jiji who had his own set of tears ready to burst from the corner of his eyes, "I know Naruto-kun, I know. I'm so, so sorry for all that's happened to you!" He whispered softly, recalling all that's happened to the poor child.

Naruto, as the Nine tailed Jinchuuriki, has faced many hardships in his few short years in this world, loneliness, hunger, fear, torment ...even rare cases of abuse.

The abuse started two years ago, the caretaker at Naruto's orphanage began to beat him, at first it was just smacks, simple pops to his backside for speaking out of turn or failing to do the simplest of tasks. But through the first year it began to escalate to other, more painful, attacks, both mental and physical. Belts were used next, cracking against his skin with a harsh pop, leaving black and blue bruises all across his body, she even stooped so low as to crack the belt across his face, one for each side.

Once she got bored with the physical abuse, she decided to rob Naruto of the only thing he had left, his existence. She ignored him, going so far as to tell all the children that were under her care to ignore him if they didn't wish to end up like him.

That lasted about 9 months, not a single person talked or looked at him for the first 9 months of the New Year; he was truly alone.

He lived in that hellhole for another year before he was able to sneak out; using a vent that was rusting away in his cell they called his room. That was the same day the Hokage decided to come and spring a surprise inspection on the orphanarium. He didn't even make it to the front office before he noticed Naruto squeezing himself out of a small vent sized hole from the exterior of the orphanarium.

After that, he didn't believe it was wise to keep his grandson in that farce of an orphanarium anymore. So, he bought his grandson his own apartment, one that was VERY close to the Sarutobi compound, and fired the caretaker and hired another, one that was examined EXTENSIVELY to make sure these orphans would be in good hands.

"L-Lord Hokage, I don't mean to rush you but we must get going. Lord Kazekage isn't too keen on tardiness." The secretary interrupted, breaking both Sarutobi and Naruto from their tender moment.

"Yes, I apologize." the Third spoke, picking up the blonde munchkin and held him up with his forearm under his thighs, "but, if I may ask, is there any other more private place my grandson could stay. He gets nervous around adults if I'm not there,"

"I'm sorry but-" her sentence was soon interrupted by a much deeper and menacing voice that came from behind her.

"Of course we do, follow me Lord Hokage." The Fourth spoke respectfully, ushering the Third to follow while he leads him to the destination.

"Thank you Lord Kazekage and I must apologize for my lateness. You see-" The Third began to explain only to be cut off by the Fourth.

"There's no need to apologize Lord Hokage, It's quite alright." said the Fourth, a small smile appeared on his serious features, "besides, I know how much of a hassle it is to watch over a child, they are quite a handful."

"Oh, not Naruto-kun, I enjoy every minute with the little guy." Sarutobi said truthfully, which didn't go unnoticed by the boy he had in his hand, "he's like family, and family means everything to me."

"Haha, I like you too Jiji, even if you're older than dirt." Naruto giggled, hugging the Third by his throat, rubbing his face against the wrinkles of the Third's face. Naruto's rather harsh statement got a frustrated sigh from Sarutobi and an audible chuckle from the Fourth.

"You're quite the character, aren't you Naruto?" The Fourth questioned, rounding a corner as the got ever closer to their destination.

"...Jiji, who's the red haired man with the beady eyes? He gives me the creeps!" Naruto whispered rather loudly, catching the Third's and the Fourth's ear. This time, Sarutobi was trying to stifle a chuckle while the Fourth's eyebrow began to twitch like crazy.

"_Disrespectful brat! My eyes are not that beady! They are the perfect size," _he thought harshly, stopping in front of a door that read, "Play Pen", "here you go. My kids normally stop by here when they get off from training." He stated, opening the door to reveal a cornucopia of bright, colorful toys that filled the room.

As the three looked over the room, Naruto's eyes were fixated on two things, one being a large stuffed fox with pointy ears and a slick, plastic nose, and the other being a young boy, no older than him, sitting in the corner with an action figure in hand. Naruto began to wiggle out of Sarutobi's hand, much to his surprise, and hopped down before rushing into the room with renewed energy. "Bye Jiji! Have fun!" was all Sarutobi heard from his surrogate grandson before the Fourth shut the door behind him.

**Kazekage's Private Office: **

"That grandson of yours, he is quite energetic isn't he?" The Kazekage spoke, taking his seat while Sarutobi takes his.

"Yes he is, he can't help it. He's always running around, having fun, it's impossible to keep up with him. Or at least not at my age," the Third chuckled, recalling the many times he came back to his office, worn out from a day of playing with Naruto.

"Well, now that we have all had our fun for today let's get down to business." Said the Fourth, taking on a more serious tone as he ushered in his secretary who had already drawn up the revamped agreement they have already established. He took it from his secretary and began to read it over; making sure everything was properly worded and understandable for all.

He then handed it to the Third, who did the same, looking for any stipulations that might have been added. No matter how friendly a village might be, they would have no problem in screwing you over if you give them the chance. That's something Sarutobi was taught by his sensei while he was grooming him to be the next Hokage, you mustn't be blinded by the pursuit of peace that you forget there's evil in this world.

"Everything seems to be in order Lord Kazekage, but I don't think you would ask me to come just to read over the revamped version of our usual treaty." Sarutobi pointed out, noticing something seemed slightly fishy, "most people would send this through messenger hawk or a summon. So, I must ask, what's the real reason you've asked for my presence?"

**Play Pen: **

"haha, this is fun!" Naruto giggled, hopping on the back of the large stuffed fox as he smuggled into its soft fabric. His arms snaked around the fox's neck while he wrapped his arms around it's abdomen and began to squeeze, "haha, gitty up!" he yelled with childlike wonder as his mind began to drift into his imagination.

But, while he was in his own little world he failed to notice a pair of pale blue-green orbs staring at his whimsy. Those eyes belonged to a young red head that went by the name Gaara no Sabaku, a nervous little boy who couldn't help but feel slightly envious of the excitement and happiness of the boy before him.

Gaara hasn't had the best of childhoods, similar to that of Naruto; he held the same burden as the blonde that was now playing on top of the plushy fox. Gaara has made many attempts to connect with the people of Sunagakure, but the all feared him, they only saw the monster, the monster his father wanted him to be.

The only people who truly care about him was Yashamaru and his siblings, even though he knows his siblings are just as afraid as the villagers and he couldn't really blame him. His powers over sand were unpredictable; everyone he was around was in danger of being brutally killed by his ultimate defense. The only one who believes he didn't mean to hurt anyone was Yashamaru, his uncle and most trusted friend.

While Gaara's mind was focused on his uncle's kind words and loving smile, he didn't notice Naruto stand mere inches from him.

"Hey, kid!" Barked Naruto, startling the Raccoon child, causing his protective sand to spring into action, placing a thick wall of sand between him and Naruto, "Oww, That freakin' hurt!" Naruto yelled, rubbing the knot that is growing on the side of his head. Apparently he was too close to the sand wall and got hit by it, leaving a nasty bump.

"O-Oh, no! I-I'm so, so sorry. Please to be mad" Gaara whimpered, covering his head with his arms, waiting for the fists to start raining down, or at least try to before the boy was inevitably ripped apart by his sand.

"Mad? Mad about what? It was my bad, I guess I should try to be quieter" Naruto laughed, standing up as he walked over to the sand. "Wow! What is this…. It's amazing! Can you do it again?"

"A-Amazing?" Gaara questioned, completely flabbergasted that someone thought that his demonic sand manipulation was anything but creepy and unholy. "You think this is….a-amazing?"

"Yeah I do! It looks so cool," Naruto decreed, raising his hand to try and touch the solid wall of minerals only to see three sections of the sand rise, creating spikes. "It's like armor or something."

"I-It is, it protects me." Gaara explained, standing from his knocked down position and peered past the sand wall to see the boy waving his hand in front of the wall, watching it react according to where his hand was.

"So, you tell it what to do? Like a perfect defense?" Naruto asked, watching as the sand wall started to fall back into the sand floor as Gaara inched closer to him, his eyes shifting from side to side nervously.

"N-No, I don't control it. I can't, it has a mind of its own." Gaara said sadly, looking to the sand particles that have collected on his hands.

"Well…..that just means you need to try harder, right?" Naruto said confidently, kneeling down as he scooped out a handful of sand.

"T-Try harder?" Gaara asked, looking at the blonde boy as he began to let the sand slide through the gaps between his fingers into his waiting palm.

"Man, you really like repeating everything I say, don't ya. Are you a parrot or something?" Naruto asked with a smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

"A-A parrot?" Gaara questioned once again.

"Will you stop that?!" Naruto barked, getting rather annoyed with Gaara's constant questions, "anyway, yeah, you need to try harder."

"It's not something I can just….control, I've tried." Gaara sighed, recalling his many failed attempts at control the raging beast inside.

"Then try harder!" Naruto decreed, taking a firm stance as he sticks his hand out, presenting the sand that he had scooped up.

"I can't," A slight whimper came from Gaara's lips as he looked down at his feet, embarrassed at his weakness.

"Not with that attitude you won't!" Naruto said with confidence, gaining the attention of Gaara, "if you start doubting yourself now, then you will never do it. You have to dig in your heels, stick up your chin, and go at it again even harder! Don't let anyone tell you that you can't, even if that someone is you!"

"D-Do you really believe that?" He asked, astonished at this 5 year olds determinations.

"Of course I do, my Jiji told me to always believe in myself and I will until the day I either die or become the next Hokage! I won't give up, believe it" Naruto spoke, his determination and heart were almost overwhelming for Gaara. He has never met anyone this passionate about...well...anything; even Yashamaru wasn't this passionate about teaching Gaara about love and pain.

"And I won't let you give up either!"

"W-What?" Gaara questioned.

"I said I won't let you give up, your gift is amazing and you shouldn't drop it because it's hard to control. Now, try it with this sand in my hand." Naruto ordered, lifting the sand into Gaara's view.

Letting out one last sigh of defeat, Gaara fixed his gaze on the small dune of sand that was in Naruto's palm, clenched every muscle in his body and began to focus all of his effort into that small pocket of sand. Greeting his teeth he used the little amount of chakra control he had and focused it on the small island of minerals as he raised his hands over the sand and tried to mold it. After 30 seconds of uninterrupted focus Gaara gasped, dropping his hands back to his side as he tried to catch his breath.

"I-I can't, I just can't." He gasped, sucking in air at an alarming rate.

"One more time," Naruto ordered, "I felt it move, it moved just a tiny bit but hey, that's something, right?"

Gaara gazed up at Naruto who still had a determined look in his eyes and a question came to young Gaara's mind, "Why? Why are you doing this?"

"What?" Naruto asked, unable to hear through Gaara's gasping.

"Why are you helping a total stranger? You don't even know my name." Gaara pointed out, regaining his composure as his lungs were finally full.

Naruto just looked off into space for a moment before extending his non-sand holding hand and said, "Hello, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I am going to be the greatest Hokage ever! What's your name?"

Slightly nervous about Naruto's wellbeing, Gaara slowly extended his own hand and took Naruto's almost as if it was a fragile piece of china, "M-My name is Gaara no Sabaku,"

"Well? Go on, finish your intro!" Naruto said with a smirk, shaking Gaara's hand but unwilling to let it go.

"F-Finish? I thought-" Gaara was about to say only to be cut off by Naruto.

"When you introduce yourself you gotta be more proud of yourself. If you don't it sounds like you're weak and I know you're not! I can feel it." Naruto explained, keeping a firm grip on Gaara's hand, waiting for the shy little sand bender to open up.

"I-I'm Gaara no Sabaku!" He said with more force but still not at the level of Naruto's. "A-And I want to protect my friends and family."

"That's a nice start," Naruto said kindly, "but now we need to focus back on the sand." he then pushed the sand filled hand back into view, getting a nervous look from Gaara.

"I told you, I can-" Gaara soon got a nasty glare from Naruto, cutting off his sentence.

"Don't you dare say it; I hate the word more than anything!" Argued Naruto, balling his other hand up into a fist, "there is nothing you can't do as long as you believe!"

"But I did believe, and it still didn't work. You saw it yourself, I'm not strong enough." The sand bender sighed, looking at the small mound of dirt as if it was mocking him and his failure.

"Well, maybe we need to try a different way, ya know?" He pondered, running his finger through the smooth minerals as he tried to think of some way to help this fellow with his problem. "How about you try it again, but this time think happy thoughts,"

"Happy thoughts?" Gaara questioned quirking a non-existent eyebrow at the word, "How would happy thoughts help me move sand?"

"Well, it's always helped me!" Naruto said defensively, "when I have to do something hard I think of the only two people that matter in this world to me and how I know they're cheering me on every step of the way."

"I-I don't have anyone that special except, maybe….." Gaara drowned on, nervously fiddling with his tunic, "Yashamaru, my uncle. He's always been there for me."

"Good, think of him. Focus on how much he cares about you and how much he's done for you and then finally, use all those good feeling in this sand!" He said with a smirk, watching Gaara close his eyes and ponder on all this Yashamaru guy did for him. After a good 30 seconds of waiting Gaara finally opened his eyes and took his stance once again, preparing himself for anything.

Once he added his chakra to the sand like he did last time, nothing happened, causing his already low resolve to start to dwindle.

"Don't give up yet! What would Yashamaru think?! He knows your strong then this," Naruto encouraged, restating the same thing he would tell himself to gain more confidence.

Hear Naruto's words of encouragement, Gaara gritted his teeth, clamped his eyes shut tight, and added a little bit more chakra. Once his eyes closed and he focused on the only shreds of happy thought he could recall, the sand began to take shape. It started out slow, a few particles shifting under the dune as it shook, but then it began to rapidly shift, rising towards Gaara's hovering hand. The rising sand grew to a point while its side smoothed out into what looked like a pyramid, a rather sloppy one but you couldn't really fault him, this is his first time ever using his powers. Most of the time they would just fire off randomly, hurting many people that try and fail to get near him.

But something was different, the sand seemed to forget Naruto was even there almost like it didn't perceive him as a threat, _"Almost like with Yashamaru" _was the thought that rung through Gaara's head as he slowly opened his eyes to see his work.

"Look Gaara, you did it!" Naruto yelled excitedly, displaying the pyramid with pride in his eyes, "I knew you could do it if you tried. Now I don't ever want to hear you say you can't do it again, ya got me?"

"Y-Yes Naruto, I will do my best." Said the smiling sand bender, his confidence was now severally higher than it was before, which really wasn't all that much but it was a good start. But while he continued to stare at the piece of art he sloppily made, he couldn't help but notice the warm feeling he felt when he was around Naruto.

It wasn't anything he has ever felt, was this how it feels to be around a friend? And then it hit him, _"C-Could it be? D-Did I make a friend?" _Gaara thought, staring at the smiling Naruto while he plays with the sand pyramid.

Once Naruto had accidentally caved in the mini-pyramid, he let the sand slip through his fingers and dusted his hands off by clapping them together, "Well, that was fun, but Jiji will be here any minute now." he sighed, starting towards the door only to be stopped by a low, "wait," uttered by the nervous red head.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked.

"D-Do you want to be friends?" He asked timidly, almost afraid of what the answer might be.

Naruto, slightly shocked at the question, cocked his head and began to stare at the poor boy while his mind ran on auto-pilot, _"Friends? He wants to be me friend? I've never had a friend before!" _ Naruto thought happily, walking back to the stuttering munchkin.

"I would love too!" Naruto said excitedly, extending his hand once more but this time producing his index and birdie finger instead of his whole hand. Not surprisingly at all, Gaara was confused about what the blonde child was doing, so he just cocked his head to the right and looked questionably at his new friend.

"It's my handshake, but I only use it with the people I care about." He explained, watching as Gaara slowly reaches out his index and birdie finger and links them with his own, "this handshake means we're bonded together, I care about you and you care about me. I will never forget you Gaara no Sabaku, you are one of my precious people!"

Speechless, Gaara just nodded with a smile gracing his normally nervous features as a single tear rolled down the raccoon's face, "and I will never forget you either, Naruto Uzumaki."

Just as the two had their little moment the door opened, revealing a slightly annoyed Fourth Kazekage and a neutral Hokage, "Let's go Gaara, we have things to attend too at home." Said the Fourth, walking to his child, snatching him up, and take his leave of the area, leaving Naruto and Sarutobi in the room.

"So, did you have fun with the Fourth's son?" Sarutobi asked, grabbing Naruto gently by his hand and began to lead them out of the building.

"Yeah, it was great Jiji. I finally made a friend! I can't wait to tell Mikoto, oh! And maybe even Sasuke-teme! I'm gonna rub it in his stupid face" Naruto exclaimed with a smile.

"Naruto-kun! Don't use such language, that is impolite to call Sasuke a teme and I should wash your mouth out with soap for saying such things." Sarutobi reprimanded, getting a low moan from Naruto.

"But he is!" he whined, finally arriving outside to see the stars have finally come out, sprinkled across the night sky as the full moon sat above them, illuminating them and all who were out at this time. "He's always calling me Dobe and he always thinks he's better than me!"

"That doesn't make it right to call him that Naruto-kun, you must learn to turn the other cheek. Be the bigger man," Sarutobi explained, looking to the sky as well, "but anyway, we better get going Naruto-kun, I hope there's a Hotel available this late at night." he said tiredly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he pulls Naruto with him, unaware of the glowing yellow eyes that have been follow his every move since he left the building.

"_Kukuku, you finally emerged. Now lead me to your destination old man, I want to have a little bit more fun before you up and leave." _

**Hotel: an hour later**

After searching for nearly an hour, both he and Naruto exhausted, the finally found an inn, or what looked like an inn, all the bloody sand buildings looked the freakin' same! Sure some of them were taller while others were shorter but other than that they were all identical. It especially didn't help that most of them had no signs or writing to separate one building from another, and if they did they were either too small or written so poorly into the sand that you would have to magnify it 20x just to get the gist of what it was saying.

They walked through the sand made doors and saw a front door check in/out station which really brightened up Sarutobi's night, _"Oh thank god!" _he thought tiredly, patting Naruto's back as he continues to lay draped over the Hokage's shoulders.

After the first 30 minutes of what felt like endless walking, Naruto's energy began to wear out, leaving him to be almost dragged by the arm by Sarutobi as he continued to trek on. Being the nice guy Hiruzen Sarutobi is, he picked up the little squirt and flung him over his shoulder, allowing the tired little bugger a few minutes of rest while he continued the search.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" The Hokage spoke lightly, trying not to awaken the sleeping Naruto, even though he knew he really didn't have too. Naruto could sleep through 2 earthquakes without so much as a murmur.

"Yeah? How may I help you?" The woman behind the counter asked, looking up from her paperwork to make eye contact with the Hokage. "Oh my! My deepest apologies Lord Hokage, I didn't mean to address you so informally!"

"No, no, it's quite alright. Right now I'm on a little bit of a vacation so please, don't feel don't feel obligated to address me like that." he said sheepishly, forgetting how jumpy people get when he wears the robe and hat out in public. But also, it's not every day you see a decorated war hero turned Hokage walk through your hotel's lobby.

"Y-Yes, Lord Hokage. Now, what my I do for you and your little traveling companion?" she asked with a smile, seeing the cute little blonde snuggle into the old man's shoulder, a small trail of drool trailing down his face as a light snore could be heard escape his widely open mouth.

"Can you please book us into a room with two beds in it?" he asked, getting a shiver down his spine as he felt the slimy saliva make contact with his skin, after being soaked up by two layers of his clothing.

The clerk began to search through a clipboard that held the info on all reserved, occupied, and empty rooms that run through the hotel. She placed the clipboard down and looked at the Hokage with a wayward gaze, "I'm sorry Lord Hokage but there doesn't seem to be any of those rooms available tonight."

"Are you sure?" He asked nervously, he would never want Naruto to be left alone in another room when he is in a new environment, who knows what could happen.

"Yes, Lord Hokage, I'm sure. But if you would like, there seems to be two conjoined rooms that is available for you and your friend here," She explained, pointing out the two open slots on her gird like check list.

"Thank you very much, we would love those two rooms." he spoke quietly, signing his name on the form and took the two keys to the room while he walked up the stairs to the second floor.

**Room 1: Naruto's room, 12 midnight**

There he was, the proclaimed "future Hokage" passed out with his covers streamed around him like a baby bird in a crappy nest. His clothing were all twisted around thanks to his constant rolling from one side of the bed to another, subconsciously trying to find the right spot in the massive sided queen bed. Yes, apparently both rooms had large Queen sized beds, and while Sarutobi loved his, Naruto was having a different reaction. He hated it; or at least his body seemed to hate it, seeing as he couldn't lay in one spot for a second without rolling to another, hoping that one will be better.

But, Naruto's sleeping habits aside, there was far more pressing matters that needed to be addressed. Like, how even though Sarutobi put security seals on all the doors, he neglected to put one on Naruto's window, leaving it wide open to anyone who wanted to break in, and that someone has already done so.

Right now, in the corner of Naruto's large hotel room was a tall, gangly man with long black hair and bright yellow eyes which were now trained on the boy's belly, or more specifically, what was on his belly.

"_A seal? He must be a Jinchuuriki" _the man deduced, standing from the chair he decided to cop a squat in and walked quietly towards the comatose blonde, _"But why would my sensei bring such a prize weapon out in the open like this? Oh well, his loss." _

Before diving into what he had planned for the poor little boy he decided he didn't want the meddling old fool bothering him, so he walked to a wall and placed several high leveled privacy seals across the whole wall and activated them. Once the precautions were out of the way he walked back towards the log and scanned the boy, wondering if there was anything more interesting about him other than the fact that he was a Jinchuuriki.

"_Hmmmm, he doesn't seem like anything special. Well, except for the blonde hair and the whisker marks. But other than that he looks like just another bland child! Why couldn't that old geezer bring an Uchiha or something? Oh well, I guess I can use him as a test dummy. Better than wasting a perfectly good body." _The man thought with a bored expression, almost as if screwing over someone's life with an untested seal was something he did every day, which, in hindsight, he probably did.

The man extends his neck to an unnatural degree and clamps down on the boy's neck, breaking straight through the skin with his pointed snake-like fangs. Once he felt his fang's cut through the boy's skin like a sharpened pencil through paper, he felt the boy start to shift under his teeth.

Wishing to see what happens next, the man retracts his teeth from the boy's neck and pulls back his own neck so he could get a good look at the upcoming show. You see, after using a boy named Juugo natural enzymes to help create this juinjutsu masterpiece he began to wonder if adding something else into the mix would strengthen the curse mark even more. So, one year from this day, in the dead of night, he slipped past Konoha defenses and took the DNA of a single Uchiha and vanished before anyone was the wiser. He would have loved to have stolen an actual Uchiha but at that moment he had to quiet while he was ahead or he might have lost his head.

As the shadowed man pondered on what the effects could possibly be, he began to hear the tossing and turning of an agitated Naruto. He looked to the flailing child and caught sight of one of the most disturbing but amazing reactions to his curse mark in recent memory.

The blonde Jinchuuriki first started to act like most of his test subject by flailing his arms around while his body begins to contort in a very unnatural way, but that's where the similarities end. Where most of his test subjects would have passed out by now, Naruto's body took on a far more disturbing affair.

At first glance you would notice the lengthening of both his body and appendages until his whole body resembled an 18 year old Minato Namikaze with whisker marks. The 5 year old turn teen was now completely nude, seeing as his tiny 5 year old shorts and T-shirt were no match for his ever expanding body; or at least he would be nude if not for a carefully placed sheet.

Believing that was the extent of Naruto's odd transformation, the stranger inched closer to get a better look at the teen's new form. _"Hmmm, now that's rather odd. I've seen some change shape or body types but I've never seen them grow older!" _ Thought the viper, only to be surprised again when Naruto let out a deep yell.

Naruto's eyes flung open as the unbearable pain woke him from his deep slumber. He lifted his left arm, indicating that's where the unbearable burning sensation was coming from, as he saw one of the most unnerving things he has ever seen. His skin began to rip open in ten different areas around his arm, revealing 10 identical eyes that slide into the ripped holes.

The scene was rather gruesome but the eyes themselves were what caught the stranger's attention. The eyes were red, not bloodshot, but solid red with three famous tomoe marks that surrounded the pupil.

"H-He grew Sharingan's from his forearm!" The stranger whispered loudly as he couldn't help but be astonished but at the same time slightly creeped out, which is saying a lot seeing as he has no problem in ripping human beings apart bit by bit to see how the tick.

But the young lad's mutation had two more levels to go. The next thing to change was the child's skin color; his normal light tan was replaced with an abnormal dark grey, while his eyes began to take on two different shapes. His right eye began to copy the same design of the other eyes attached to his left arm, three tomoe's surrounded his pupil while his natural blue eye color turned red with a black outlining. The left was a different story; his whole eye was covered by a ripple-like pattern which spread to the farthest corner while the background of this ripple had turned a dull light purple.

Now completely speechless, the unnamed shadow stared at the adolescent male with both unexplainable pride and uncontrollable disgust. _"This has got to be one of the most successful and disgusting experiment I've ever created." _he thought as he watched the boy fumble from the bed onto the cold sand floor, pulling the comforter with him.

"W-What's going on? What's happening to me?" The boy whimpered in a far more masculine voice, which actually made it seem funny to hear when the teen still had the same inflections of a 5 year old boy.

"Kukuku, I must say, I grossly underestimated you, you are quite different than most snot nosed brats." The shadow speaks stepping from the shadows and into the moon light that bathed the room through the open window. Naruto's gaze fell onto the man only to realize he has seen that man before, "I-I-I know you! You're that guy from the waiting room!" he said, voice trembling since he was still feeling the effect of his transformation.

"Hmmm, yes I was. Let me introduce myself," The man stated as Naruto uses the comforter to cover his unmentionables, "my name is Lord Orochimaru, and I will be your new master."

"N-New master? Lord Orochimaru? I don't understand, what is happening to me?" He asked, petrified at the unexplained puberty growth and mutation.

Orochimaru was about to explain until his eyes caught on to something that seemed to have gone unnoticed, the different designed eye on Naruto's left side. _"The Rinnegan!" _he nearly jumped the confused bastard and ripped it out of his eye socket once he noticed the familiar style.

One of the strongest Doujutsu was now in the eye socket of a confused toddler turned teen and it was all thanks to Orochimaru's curse mark and pure luck. The last time he recalled seeing such a powerful Doujutsu was when he was enlisted in the Akatsuki, a vicious group of mercenaries who are now scouring the Elemental Nations for the 9 Bijuu's. The leader of this group of S-ranked Missing-nin's was named Pein, a psychotic madman who wouldn't shut up about spreading peace to the world while also wanting everyone to feel the same pain he felt or whatever. But it really wasn't his stance on peace that caught Orochimaru's attention, it was those eyes, those powerful eyes, it was something that drew Orochimaru towards him.

Hell the first time Pein approached Orochimaru, offering him a spot in the Akatsuki, Orochimaru was so mesmerized by the power those eyes held that he charged the leader and was promptly beaten into the ground by one of the eye's amazing gravity jutsu's. Needless to say, Orochimaru has been addicted to finding someone with those eyes ever since his abusive run in with Pein, and now look at him now, not only has he created a mutated marvel of science, but this curse mark has brought out the famed Rinnegan! Score one for Orochimaru.

"Let me make this very simple for you, young one," Orochimaru said smoothly, his words sliding off his forked tongue like it was buttered up, "I own you with that simple mark, your mind and your body now belong to me." he stated, placing his index finger on the growing black tattoo on his trapezius muscle. This mark was slightly different from what he expected; it originally was supposed to look like the Cursed Seal of Earth, which consisted of three slightly curved lines, which spread in a rip-like pattern. But this one seemed to take on a jagged pattern for the three curved lines while a single dot rested in the center of the lines.

"Everything that is happening to you right now is because of me. Your new found powers belong to me." Orochimaru hissed, patting the grown five years old on his shoulder as a sly smile creeped onto his fake face.

"Y-You did this to me? Y-You made me this…..this freak!" Naruto yelled, staring down at his left palm which housed one of his many new eyeballs. Then, as if it knew it was being talked about, the red Sharingan eye swiveled in its hollowed out portion of Naruto's palm and stared up, freaking out the mental five year old.

"Freak? No, no, no, I'm made you into…..into the perfect body!" the snake cooed, looking over the clothed mutation as he began to size him up, "yes, quite a fine body if I do say so myself. Sure it's a bit flashy for my taste but beggars can't be choosers."

Naruto looked up from his gruesome eye arm to look into the predatory eyes of a madman, "My body? What does that have….." he trailed off, seeing the sick gleam in the bastards eyes and the weird way he licked his lips, "Ummmm, Jiji said not to go with men who want my body!" the mentally childish teen said nervously, confusing Orochimaru's odd antics to that of a pedophile (and to be honest, I think anyone would do that).

"What? Want you're…." Orochimaru questioned, wondering why Naruto seemed far more nervous than before only to realize the implication, "I am not a pedophile, dammit! Why do people always keep saying that?" The snake bastard questioned.

"Stranger danger! Stranger danger!" Naruto yelled, rushing towards the door that connected Sarutobi's room to his, only to feel something wrap around his ankle and trip him, causing him and his comforter to tumble to the ruff sand.

"Not so fast," the slithering serpent interjected, pulling the blonde teen back towards him with a white snake that protruded from under his sleeve, "you might be my ticket to getting what I've always dreamed off and I won't let you fuck it up for me!"

While Naruto fiddled with the white snake that has tightened around his ankle, he and Orochimaru was oblivious to the raging beast that dwelled within Naruto, who was rather pissed when he awoke to find his home had completely changed.

**Kyuubi's Cage: **

As the lazy fox laid in his cage, dreaming of the day he could rip out of this damned seal and slaughter the masked bastard who controlled him and use his remaining body parts as chew toys, he soon noticed a shift in atmosphere in his small little home away from home. He cracked open a disinterested eye to notice a few new changes have occurred within his domain. For starters the walls were no longer their usual wooden texture with wave like details etched in them; they were now a pattern of white snake scales that stretched as far as the eye can see.

Another change was the water that pooled at the bottom, it usually was the color of murky blood red but now it seemed to have turned into a bright yellow, like someone's piss.

And finally, one of the biggest changes was a mile long (5,280 feet/1609.34 meters) white snake was occupying the free space outside of Kurama's cage, glaring menacingly through the bars as it keeps its distance.

"**Humph, what moral dares enter my domain?" **The Kyuubi questioned, giving the scaly reptile a harsh glare as it continues to keep its distance.

"I am Orochimaru, the-" The snake began, poking its head out of the shadow's that the lack of light created.

"**I know who you are, I recall meeting Manda, the Snake boss. He spoke highly of you even though I see nothing that would warrant such praise." **The Kyuubi chuckled, making sure Orochimaru knew his place, **"I should have asked why your scaly ass is inside my tenant? This place is cramped enough without you ugly face keeping me company." **

Orochimaru, not one to let a insult lay, just cooed and said, "kukuku, you talk a big game for someone who is stuck inside a 5 year old," which got a low growl for a response, "anyway, my true body is outside, taking care of your little jailer for you. I'm just here to keep you in check."

"**Keep me in check, hmm? That's a laugh!" **The fox boasted, getting a good chuckle from the thought, **"the only reason you are still standing there is because I want to know what's happening. If I wanted to I could fry you like an egg on a hot sidewalk!" **

"So threatening!" Orochimaru mocked, "I think I'm shaking in my skin."

"**How did you get in here in the first place? Only the brat can step foot in here." **The Kyuubi questioned, trying to see if he could get some info from this snake freak.

"Well, if you must now. My real self decided to grace your jailer with a powerful Curse Mark," The pedophile spoke, pointing his white tail towards the ceiling of Naruto's mindscape, revealing the eccentric marking. "I'm here to grant complete control to my master, I am nothing but a soul fragment to keep this brat in line."

"**Humph, is that all? You believe a simple soul fragment will keep a Jinchuuriki in line?" **The Kyuubi questioned, finding the snake's piss poor plan was rather flimsy, **"I will crush you into dust before I let you take over this monkey's body! He is my only ticket to my revenge and I won't let you ruin that for me!" **

"Kuku, well aren't you full of yourself," the white snake with Orochimaru's face chuckled, "you must think your power to be infinite, don't you? Well, if I'm not mistaken, which I'm not, that seal that rests on your cage takes away all of your influence in this little squirts belly."

All the white snake heard after that was a low, deep chuckle which soon rose to a echoing, foreboding roar of laughter, **"Hahaha! You mortals are so funny, believing you can capture and control beast such I." **He laughed, glaring down on the scaly freak, **"this seal does keep me from influencing that meat bag out there but, it doesn't say anything about any foreign bodies. Including worms like you!" **

Before the snake Orochimaru had a chance to comprehend the words the mighty 9 tails spoke, he was engulfed by the Kyuubi's toxic Youkai, crushing the human's pathetic Soul Fragment like a bug under his mighty paw. **"Insect", **The Kyuubi mumbled, laying his head down to rest once more. **"The rest is up to you meat bag." **

**The Present:**

We cut back to the same scene as before, Naruto, now grown to the age of 18, being dragged towards the Ambassador, who had a snake wrapped around the boy's ankle as if he had lassoed him up and was ready to hogtie him. While the madman known as Orochimaru had a gleam in his eyes reserved only to those who enjoy physically man handling creatures far more weaker than themselves, Naruto's eyes had began to glaze over as he feels an odd pressure fall over him as the curse mark on his shoulder begins to loosen up, almost like releasing a tightened muscle.

"**The rest is up to you meat bag." **

A voice echoed through Naruto's clouded mind as a glimpse of a large, red silted pupil was only visible for maybe half a second before he felt his heart beat pick up. His eyes shot open, revealing his mismatched eyes as his body began to feel warmer than usual.

"Let me go." Whispered Naruto, feeling his grip on reality began to slip once he saw that massive eye.

"What are you blathering on about now?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk, mere inches from one of his strongest creations he has ever created.

"Let me go!" Yelled Naruto, clenching all of his muscles as tightly as he could while he felt an updraft of air and pressure build around him, circling around his clench right hand.

Being the legendary sannin Orochimaru is, he began to feel the buildup of chakra that was now forming around the 18 year olds hand, collecting a copious amount of chakra that was so thick that he began to see it forming within his hand. _"What is that?" _Questioned the curious serpent as he felt the gravity around him start to get heavier by every passing second Naruto collects chakra.

"What are you doing you little brat!" Orochimaru yelled, one of the few times Orochimaru has lost his cool in a while.

"I said, LET ME GO!" Naruto uttered as he points his palm towards the Ambassador and released the amount of chakra built up around it. Once he unleashed the built up chakra in the direction of Orochimaru, the gravity that surrounded him began to push him backwards, creating an extremely strong force. Orochimaru went flying back, crashing into the hardened sand walls of the hotel while Naruto, who is now freed from his lasso, stood up and tired collecting one more mound of chakra in his fist.

"You worm! I gave you that power, and I can sure as hell take it away!" Orochimaru yelled, wasting little time to go on the offensive. He shoved off the concrete like sand and rushed towards Naruto, his hand extended towards Naruto's left eye, _"The Rinnegan, it's finally mine!" _

"Shinra Tensei! (Almighty Push)" was the final words Orochimaru heard from Naruto before he was repulsed backwards, busting through the weakened sand wall as he was propelled into the neighboring building, crashing through the rooftop.

"*_pant_* and stay *_pant_* out!" Naruto wheezed, his heart feeling like it was going a mile a minute while his body started to reform back to its original state, a 5 year old blonde who, right now was completely naked in front of a man sized hole he created just moments ago. That would be a very hard thing to explain to the maid, but right now Naruto didn't care, right now he was passed out on the floor while the curtains from his window fell off the curtain rack and landed perfectly around his waist.

**Outside: With Orochimaru**

"Damn him!" Orochimaru muttered, kicking through the debris that surrounded him as he began to pick himself up only to feel a shooting pain shoot his side. He slipped his hand around too his back ribs and found that at least three were broken, _"t-t-that kid, that little 5 year old bastard broke three of my lower ribs!" _He deliberated fury now evident on his face.

"I'm going to kill that little bastard if it's the last thing I do!" Orochimaru vowed, heading towards the exit only to feel another presence in the shop he apparently crashed through. "What took you so long Kabuto, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show."

The man he spoke to appeared from the shadows wearing a pair of black rimmed circular glass which framed his onyx eyes and rested under his ash-grey hair. HIs attire consisted of a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple fingerless gloves with armored plates on the back of the hands, a white cloth waistband worn at an angle, dark purple pants, blue sandals, and a shuriken holster on his right leg. To say he was elaborately dressed would be the understatement of the year.

"It is nice to see you to Lord Orochimaru," he said with a smirk, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, "sorry for my absence, it's very difficult to sneak into such a heavily guarded village undetected. That and with you jumping around all over the place, it was next to impossible to pin-point your location."

"And yet here you are, blathering on and on," Orochimaru sneered, either from the pain or his apprentices complaining, "anyway, that doesn't matter now. What does is us getting back up there and tearing those eyes out of that boy's eye sockets."

"Lord Orochimaru, your face." Kabuto stated, pointing to a ripped piece of flesh that dangled from his cheekbone, revealing his real, natural pale skin.

"Damn!" The snake hissed, quickly trying to run damage control to try and fix his fake face, "that brat must have ripped my Technique. I can't lose this face; I need it for the meeting with the fourth. Kabuto, we must get going." Orochimaru demanded, rushing to his white haired lad's side.

"Yes my lord," grabbing his Master by the shoulder and they both vanish without a trace.

"_Mark my words, boy. I will have my vengeance!" _

**Next day: 5:00 A.M. **

As the night was switched out with the dawn, the light of the freshly rising sun peered through the man sized hole from which Naruto laid in front of, catching the blonde in his sleeping face. He tries to ignore it but to no success, "fine, fine, you win sun….this time." Naruto mumbled as he slowly but surely got up from the floor and caught a glimpse of his surroundings, or at least what's left of it.

To Naruto's shock, he was greeted with a man sized opening that seemed to have carved through the hardened sand. His next big shock was that he was wearing nothing but his birthday suit, his kidney bean butt and private areas free for all to see.

"What the crap!" Naruto yelled, covering himself with the comforter and rushed to the bathroom, hoping to find his bag full of clothes he brought. Thanks to Sarutobi's constant reminders, Naruto was lucky enough to remember to pack at least one extra pair of clothing, his iconic orange jumpsuit. He slipped into the baggy orange piece and decided to try and wake his Jiji up,_ "maybe he could make more sense of this than I can" _Naruto thought, passing by the mirror as the dark tattoo on his neck goes unnoticed under the jumpsuit's high collar.

After a very loud wake-up call and a very choppy explanation as to why he needed to wake up right now, Sarutobi slowly rolls out of his bed and follows the rambunctious little kid to his room only to find an ungodly amount of damage.

"What the hell happened in here?" He asked, astonished at the amount of damage that occurred in this room, and yet he didn't hear a thing. Once he was done looking over the room he knelt down to Naruto's level and began to look him over, "are you hurt? Does anything feel sour or in any form of pain?" he asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine Jiji, really I am." Naruto said kindly, stopping the old geezers hands from checking anywhere else, cutting him off an inch away from looking down his collar to reveal the curse mark.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Yeah, I feel great actually. Never felt better…..all though, I think a bowl of Ramen would make me feel a whole lot better," Naruto smiled, reassuring the worrying old coot who was about to have a heart attack.

After that morning scare, Sarutobi told his young companion to pack his bags and get ready; they weren't staying any longer than they have too, not if there was someone foolish enough to attack Naruto in the middle of the night. So, paying for both the stay and the extra expenses to fix the demolished room, the Hokage and Jinchuuriki of the nine tailed fox set off through the desert, trekking back to their home village of Konohagakure. While Sarutobi's mind wondered who would stoop so low as to attack a small boy in the middle of the night, Naruto's thoughts were on one person and one person only, _"I can't wait to tell Mikoto about my adventure!" _

**Thank you all for reading and please Review, and if you have any questions PM me and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you all once again.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone, Alucard1959 here with a quick announcement before he get under way. The man who gave me this challenge, Lawrence Helmbain wanted me to say that if you are looking for any challenges that dealt with Naruto, Bleach, Dragon Ball Z, or Black Lagoon, please PM him at his page, Lawrence Helmbain. He also has two crossover challenges consisting of a Naruto/DBZ and a Naruto/Bleach. **

**Now, enough with the announcements, on with the show!**

**Chapter 2**

**Mikoto's Love: A Day in the Life of Naruto**

"Are we there yet?"

"Not yet, Naruto-kun."

"...how bout now?"

"Nope, not yet."

"NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNow, are we there now!?"

"Naruto-kun, how about this," The Hokage sighed, "I'll tell you when we get there. does that sound good to you?" He has listened to the same question, repeated in a different fashion over and over again for the past hour, and it seemed like there would be no end in sight.

At this point in time, both Sarutobi and Naruto have passed the threshold of the sandy terrain a day ago and were now about 10 minutes away from their destination, Konoha. Naruto seemed to get antsy the longer it took. His tiny little 5 year old legs grew tired the more the trekked onward.

Minutes seemed like hours to the poor boy, he could barely keep his head from drooping let alone walk another 10 minutes, but you couldn't really blame the fellow? Even the Hokage wasn't shaping up any better.

While Naruto's young, underdeveloped legs were not used to this type of walking, Hiruzen Sarutobi was ancient, meaning his joints were popping and clicking like clockwork. His aging back and neck were downright killing him while his feet have gone numb a mile and a half ago, _"I'm getting too old for this," _were his thoughts as time seemed to linger until, finally, they arrived at the village gates.

They were greeted by two gatekeepers who seemed relieved their Hokage had arrived home safe and sound, for good reason too, he had left without a single ANBU for protection.

"Glad to see you're back in one piece, Hokage-sama," one stated, bowing respectfully towards their aging leader who just smiled and nodded.

"Of course he did, he's our Hokage for a reason," the other stated firmly, shooting his friend a nasty look for insinuating their Hokage couldn't take care of himself. Even though, deep down, he felt the same way as his friend. Deep down, he knows the Hokage is stronger than any ninja in the village; he just couldn't help but fear the day he dies, whether it's from old age or from an attacker out for blood.

"It is good to be home," The Hokage sighed, looking at the village he has sworn to protect, it was a breath of fresh air to come back to such a marvelous sight. "And by the way, I may be old, but I can still give you two a run for your money." His joke got a few nervous chuckles from the two guards before he and Naruto headed towards his office.

While walking to the office Naruto noticed how respectful and downright gracious people seemed to be when the Hokage walked by. People who were working or busy shopping would stop what they're doing, look in the Hokage's direction, and either wave, yell praises, and some would even walk up to him to give him a handshake or, if they were bold enough, a hug. It was very odd but strangely alluring to Naruto, he wanted something like that, a whole village that seemed happy for his existence, for people to acknowledge who he was and what he was capable of.

It always struck Naruto as odd when everyone seemed to be all hunky dory with him when the Hokage was around and then once Naruto was all alone things seemed to turn in the opposite direction, like someone had flipped a switch. But Naruto's 5 year old mind couldn't comprehend why these people seemed to have it out for him, all he knew was that they were nice when the Hokage was around and when he wasn't, there was no holding back.

He really didn't know what was worse, those that had the gall to call him names and pick on him or the ones who just seemed to ignore him, going so far as to bump into him like he doesn't even exist.

"Hey, Jiji?" Naruto asked disrespectfully, pulling on the old man's robes while trying to get his attention. "Why are all these people so nice to you? Did you do something for them?"

"No, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi smiled at his innocence, "they are nice to me because I am nice to them, I've been the Hokage for years now and I have treated everyone that I have come across with respect and kindness. Something I hope you will do once you take over as Hokage, if you think you're up for it, of course."

"Yep! I'm always up for it," Naruto yelled triumphantly, "I will be the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen, even better than you, old man!"

Sarutobi couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm, "I bet you will, Naruto-kun, I bet you will. But, a Hokage, while being kind hearted, must also be strong and intelligent, it takes years of hellish training to become a Hokage, it is far more work than it looks. "

"I know, Jiji, the Hokage is the strongest ninja in the village. That's why I'll train, I'll train until I surpass my role models," He said confidently, giving his surrogate grandfather a thumb up and a toothy grin.

"Role models? Who would they be, Naruto-kun?" The Hokage questioned.

"Well, the Fourth Hokage is my first role model; I heard that he was an orphan, just like me!" Naruto said proudly, staring up at the fourth's face that was chiseled into the Hokage monument, "and if he could become one of the strongest Hokage's ever, then why can't I?"

"Very good, Naruto-kun, never let your heritage set your goals," Sarutobi wisely spoke, "It doesn't matter where you come from or who your family is, it's what is inside that counts. Your heart, your spirit, and the Will of Fire are what will push you to your goals."

"Yeah, Jiji!" He yelled with a fire in his heart, "my second one is Mikoto-chan, she's so brave and sweet, she always remembers my birthday, and… and she's really pretty. And my third and final role model is you, Jiji. Even though you're older than Kami himself, you're still stronger than any ninja in this village. No one could ever beat you, could they?"

This time Sarutobi's features seemed to darken, "Naruto-kun…..you know I will not live forever, right?" he questioned.

"Well, of course I know that, no one lives forever. But what does that have to do with your fighting skills?" He asked with a cocked brow, looking at his grandfather with confusion. _"Why did he get serious all of a sudden? Did I say something wrong?" _

"Because once I pass on, my successor will have to surpass my skills, just like I did with my predecessors. I surpassed the First and the Second, and the Fourth surpassed my strength as well, so, if you truly want to become Hokage, you must stride to be better than me in every way. From fighting to intelligence, only then will you be worthy of this hat." Once he finished his long and quite confusing speech, he removed his diamond shaped hat and placed it on Naruto's head, allowing the boy to feel the weight behind it.

At his age, he did not understand the weight was both physical and metaphorical, the hat was weighted down to keep it easily on the head, but to the Third, it symbolized the weight of the whole village.

"The village count on the Hokage to do what is best, and though those decisions might come at a cost, you must do what is good for the people of Konoha. That's the weight you feel from that hat Naruto-kun, the weight of the whole village resting on your head." Sarutobi's sudden mood change was brought on by the simple fact of his own mortality. He knows sooner or later, his time will come and he won't be there to help Naruto like he has over the years. The boy will be left to fend for himself, maybe with a little help from Mikoto, but, other than that, he will have to grow and be strong, stronger than most, and the Hokage believed he could do that.

Naruto just laughed, playing with the drape like fabric that hung on the hem of the hat, "don't worry Jiji, I'll carry that weight, no matter what!"

They continued their walk in silence, Naruto now holding the Hokage's hat honorably on his head, while Sarutobi continued onwards, stealing glances at his grandson only to smile with pride. _"You would be so proud of your son, Minato; I know he will surpass us all. He has the heart of a true Hokage!" _

Soon they arrived at the Hokage's tower and the Hokage had to get back into his usual rhythm, leaving Naruto to his own devices. He talked to his grandfather for about an hour or two but had to leave, seeing as Sarutobi was having a hard time trying to focus while Naruto was rambling on and on about anything that came to his 5 year old mind.

After he was nicely escorted out by a pretty lady behind the Secretary desk, he decided to make a quick little visit to his favorite person in the village, Mikoto.

She was an angel on earth to Naruto, she was sweet, caring, loving, and she did it all even though he wasn't her child. She watched over him every day before her husband came home and she loved every minute of it.

Naruto met Mikoto 3 years ago, when he was 2 and still in the orphanage. It was a simple encounter, Naruto was looking out one of the few windows in the orphanarium and spotted her beauty and, out of some miracle, she spotted him as well. At first she was confused, why was this boy just staring at her? It was quite un-nerving but in the same instance, rather cute. He had these big, pleading blue eyes that seemed to grow with anticipation the more they kept their eye contact.

She gave Naruto an innocent little wave but that was all he needed to brighten his day. Someone actually acknowledged he existed! He wasn't invisible or a ghost, the only two rational explanations from a 2 year olds mind.

Their interaction lasted all of 5 seconds but her face, her beautiful, angelic face was etched into his memory forever, giving him the much needed reference to go find her after he escaped that dreaded orphanage. So, after he was given his new apartment, he rushed out and arrived at the same market place he saw Mikoto at every day, for the next 3 weeks until he finally found her, searching through a stand full of apples.

The rest was history, they connected. Mikoto's natural motherly instincts and Naruto's lack of a mother figure in his life made them click almost instantly.

Naruto made her feel happy and wanted, not in an odd way though. Her first son, Itachi, has becoming very distant, working at ungodly hours every day and when he comes home he'd just passes out for the rest of the day. Her second son, Sasuke, was too focused on trying to get his father's and brother's approvals to even notice her. Sure, he would say the occasional, "good morning, Kaa-chan," but she knew it was just a formality to him.

But the worst offender was her own husband, Fugaku, he was a stubborn man, a head strong clan leader who seemed to grow colder and colder with each passing day. He wasn't a bad husband, at least he wasn't before, but for some reason, over the past few years she had been watching over Naruto, he has began to grow more and more distant.

She needed Naruto's love, it was something that she always wanted from her children but never got. Itachi was sweet and kind when he was young and wide-eyed but now he is growing up and is now turning his back on her, even Sasuke, a 5 year old, could care less about his mother and her feelings.

But Naruto's different, Naruto still craves that motherly love that was robbed from him from those bastards at the Orphanarium and she had plenty of that to spare. She even fought to have Naruto adopted into the Uchiha family but was turned down by not only the Uchiha compound but her own husband as well. So now she is forced to keep her and Naruto's little "get togethers" a secret from her husband and the entire Uchiha clan, not an easy task.

We now arrive at the Uchiha compound, a vast amount of land covered by elegant and well crafted compounds and buildings, most of which are empty, seeing as the Uchiha council has called a meeting for all of those who can use their Sharingans. This meeting has left the compound vulnerable to infiltration by a small blonde in an orange jumpsuit that is quite possibly one size too big.

The boy "sneaks" into the base, using all the stealth skills a 5 year old could handle, which is shimmying across the ground, trying to mimic a commando crawl, sliding against the walls as stealthily as possible, and rather poor attempts at cartwheels.

Many who would stumble upon this scene would probably drop dead from the cuteness of it all, a rosy cheeked blonde boy acting like a spy from those movies he has seen far too many times. Soon enough Naruto arrived at his destination, a house that was larger and more elegant than all the other's that surrounded it, the Clan head's main compound which also housed his family.

Naruto continued to sneak through the house, hoping not to get the attention of the other three men that were supposed to be here. He was unaware that both Fugaku and Itachi were gone, only leaving his arch-enemy, Sasuke, and his mother figure, Mikoto.

"_Sasuke-teme!" _Naruto thought bitterly as he slithered through the halls on his hands and knees, following the sound of clanking dishware and running water. He hated Sasuke, or rather envied what he had. He has a family, a mother, brother, father, the whole 9 yards and yet, he ignores his mother to try and get in the good graces of his brother and father, throwing her to the waste side because she doesn't have a Sharingan.

To this clan, having a Sharingan is a must if you want an ounce of respect and apparently Sasuke picked that up at an early age. _"He doesn't even have his red eyes yet," _Naruto thought every time he would Sasuke shun his mother, who was he to talk? Sasuke doesn't even know if he was going to have his own Sharingan, he could be the few that are born Uchiha but lack the Kekkei Genkai, like Mikoto, or so everyone believes.

After his long and rather painful command crawl on the hardwood floors, Naruto arrives in the kitchen just in time to see Mikoto putting away the last dish into the drying rack. Naruto grew a wicked smile on his face, seeing as she hadn't seen him yet he decided it would be best for his little pranks. Now, you must remember, a 5 year olds version of a prank is lacking compared to an actual, thought out prank of an adult. So to Naruto, silently crawling towards someone and screaming was the same as an elaborate prank that takes weeks to plan and prep for.

Once he was in position, he reared back and was about to yell only to see Mikoto disappear.

"She's gone!?" Naruto yelled in disbelief, completely stunned by this witchcraft, all that was left in her place were a few discarded leaves. Naruto got down on his hands and knees and picked up the remaining reminisce of her, which was nothing but leaves, and cradling them in his hands like they were fragile and delicate.

"Did she turn into these leaves?" He questioned nervously, flipping the leafs over and over again in his grip, trying to find some logic to what just happened but his 5 year old brain couldn't comprehend it.

Naruto's panic attack was interrupted by an audible giggle, a sweet little laugh that could only be made by one person. Naruto was soon grabbed from behind by two delicate arms and hugged to someone's body, like a toy is hugged by a child.

"Gotcha, Naruto-kun!" Mikoto giggled, getting a cute little "eep" to arise from Naruto.

"Mikoto-chan, you're alive!" He yelled a mix of utter confusion and a euphoric happiness in his voice. He couldn't help but turn around in her grip and hug her. Mikoto, his ray of happiness, was still here, and still had the same warm glow he has come to love about her.

She had this feel about her every time he hugged her, it was like a warming breeze on a beautiful summer morning or dipping yourself into a hot spring for the first time, it calmed you, and it comforted you.

"How did you do that?" he asked, snapping out of his comfort to confront his mother like figure on her witchcraft!...or something else, it could be.

She couldn't help but laugh at his innocence and utter wonder at what she did, he stood there wide eyed with wonderment and awe like a child being shown a magic trick. _"I wonder what he would be like once he sees a Katon Jutsu, he might lose his mind." _she thought with a smirk.

"It's called Shunshin no Jutsu, the Body Flicker Technique. It's a common ninja ability," she explained with a smile, unwilling to let Naruto go from her hold. She loved this feeling; she misses it so much. To hold your child in your arms while they nuzzle into your body, there was nothing like it.

"Can I learn how to use the Shus- Shunsh- that Body Flicker thing?" He asked, tripping over his words, getting another giggle from his mother figure.

"When you're older, Naruto-kun, when you're older," she patted his messy blonde mop of hair while she stood, carrying the blonde in her arms, "I missed you so much, my little fox."

"Haha, I was just gone for 5 days, Mikoto-chan," he giggled, feeling her fingers slide through his sun kissed hair and tickle his scalp. (Two days to walk there, one in Suna, two to get back, both of their ages slowed them down. If they were in the primes it would probably have taken 3, one to get there, one to stay, and one to get back home)

"I don't care if it's 5 day or 20, I'll always miss my little fox," she cooed, rubbing her nose with his, getting another giggle from her little blonde fox.

"Oh, Mikoto-chan?" Naruto asked once he was placed down around a circular table that rested in the middle of the living room while Mikoto took the spot right in front of him. "Guess what?"

"What?" she asked.

"You gotta guess!" He said with enthusiasm, "it's no fun if you don't guess."

She couldn't help but giggle once more as she saw the cute little pout the chubby cheeked Naruto gave her while he rested his chin on the hardwood table, "okay, okay….hmmmmm, does it have to do with Ramen?" Her response was met with a shake of the head, "ummmmm, does it have to do with your trip to Suna?" a nod, "did you meet a pretty girl? Hmmm? Is my little fox a ladies' man?"

"Ewwww, girls are nasty." Naruto hissed, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"Really?" She questioned with a finger to her chin, "well, aren't I a girl? Am I nasty, Naruto-kun?"

"N-N-No! Mikoto-chan is prettier than any girl!..." his statement trailed off once he realized what he said. It was embarrassing, Naruto has never told Mikoto how he felt. She was his first crush, and sure, it was a simple child crush, a feeling that will disappear in a week or two, but for some reason he has had this feeling for the Clan Head's wife for more than 3 years.

Mikoto looked at Naruto for a solid minute in silence until her face erupted with the biggest and toothiest smile she could muster up, "Naruto-kun that is the nicest thing I've ever heard!"

"R-R-Really?" He asked timidly, surprised that a woman as beautiful as she has not been given such a compliment, "has Sasuke-teme or that creepy man with the weird eyes never compliment you?"

"Creepy man with the weird eyes?" she questioned, "you mean Fugaku?"

"No, he's mean, not creepy." he stated matter-of-factly, "I mean the other one."

"Itachi?"

"Yeah, he gives me the creeps!" Naruto shivered, remembering his dull, cold eyes. No matter how many times he tries to get over it, he can't help the chill that runs up and down his spine every time he sees him. Itachi really doesn't do anything to creep Naruto out, he acts around Naruto just like he acts around his own brother but Naruto just…..felt something, something eerie about him.

Mikoto laughed at that, she was actually surprised Naruto was afraid of her eldest son and yet she couldn't fault him for his fear. Itachi has become darker over the years, what with him being an ANBU Captain and all, that job takes away a lot of your humanity, forcing you to deal with everyday occurrences with emotional detachment. You never know when the person you're talking to will become an enemy of Konoha forcing you to butcher them for the good and safety of your own village.

"Naruto-kun, there is nothing to be afraid of when it comes to Itachi." she said, trying to put his nerves at ease, "now, granted he can seem rather cold at times, but he is a sweetheart under it all. Besides, he is quite fond of you."

"He is, why?" Naruto asked, genuinely surprised at that, how could he? Naruto's only meet him the few times he's been spotted sneaking around the Uchiha district and he would usually carry him out and back onto the streets in complete silence.

"It's a secret," she said cutely, placing her indexing finger on her lips and make a light "shhh" noise while she winked at him. Even though she would love to tell Naruto that Itachi has watched over him ever since he escaped that damned prison they called an orphanage, she couldn't, it would reveal her son's cover name as an ANBU which leads to her discrete execution, and death is something she is not ready to face just yet.

"Anyway, Naruto-kun what was it you wanted to tell me?" she questioned after Naruto's little pouty face disappeared and was replaced with a bright, toothy smile.

"Oh! I made a friend over in Suna!" He yelled with pride and unquenchable excitement as his eye's brightened up as he recalled his new little friend, "his name is Gaara, he's got this cool sand armor thing that protects him from any threat, its awesome! He's also the son of the Fourth Kazekage, that man is creepy though. He's got these beady little eyes."

"Haha, Naruto-kun, do you think every adult is creepy?" she asked, watching his deep enthusiasm when he started to talk about his new found friend. Just one simple friend could cause so much excitement out of the blonde Jinchuuriki, it was truly amazing to watch, he was so lively. _"I guess that's why I like him so much. I love my two sons with all my heart but….I was never able to get this. This bonding, this connection, thank you Naruto-kun." _

"I don't think you're creepy!" He said absentmindedly, once again allowing his mouth to run far before his brain had enough time to process it, "...and, ya know, Jiji's pretty cool, and those people that run that one ramen stand, Ichiraku's, yeah…..they're cool."

"You're so cute, Naruto-kun," she giggled, seeing a vicious blush rush the boy's tanned complexion.

Once they had their little reminiscing time together the clock struck 12, meaning the meeting of the Sharingan users was come to a close and soon Fugaku will be back.

"Naruto-kun," Mikoto gasped, hearing the grandfather clock in the living room strike 12, "you need to get going, hurry."

"Why, Mikoto-chan? Is something wrong?" he asked innocently, looking back and forth between her and were he gaze landed, the front door window which silhouetted a single figure. She thought quickly and snatched up Naruto and headed for the back door of the compound, _'why didn't I notice the time! Damn it, I was too distracted, Fugaku will do anything to keep Naruto away from me. I can't let that happen!" _she thought frantically, zipping through each turn like her life depended on it.

She took the final corner only to come face to face with her two boys, Sasuke and Itachi, who seemed to be staring up at the clouds while Sasuke berates his big brother with question after question about his Sharingan and what life is like as an ANBU.

Itachi, being the more observant son, notices the two from the corner of his eye and starts to assess the situation. _"Why is my mother caring Naruto?" _he thought, stealing slight corner glances at the two while Sasuke continued to drone on and on, allowing Itachi some more time to think.

"Sasuke-chan," Itachi interrupted, catching both his little brother's and his mother's full undivided attention, "I want to play a game with you."

"A game!? What type of game, Nii-san?" he asked, bubbling with excitement.

"It's a game I like to call, Hide-n-Seek," he said with mock wonder, trying to keep his little brothers attention on him.

"Hide-n-seek? I was hoping for a game that would challenge me!" He said with a "humph" while he sticks his nose up at Itachi's offer.

"But it will, Sasuke-chan," he retorted, "if you are able to hide from me, then that means you might be able to surpass me, and I am an ANBU, they are legendary at this game."

"Really?!" He asked with wide eyed wonder.

"Really,"

"Okay, you go in the house and count to 100; I'll go find the perfect hiding spot! You'll never find me!" He yells as he jumps from the porch and rushes off into the thick greenery that surrounds the fenced in area. Once Sasuke's black spiky hair was out of sight, Itachi looked to his mother and decided it would be best to speak to her.

"Kaa-san, what are you doing? Why is Naruto with you?" he questioned, walking into the home and closing the door behind him, fooling his little brother into thinking he was actually counting.

"I can't say, you just have to trust me, it will be easier on both of us," she whispered, hearing her husband's footsteps echo through the hall as her heart began to pound.

"Kaa-san, please, don't treat me like a child. I need to know," Itachi said quietly, trying to keep his mother's and his own location hidden from the roaming Clan head. Mikoto looked at her son with calculating eyes, could she trust him? _"What a terrible thing to think!" _She thought to herself, _"he is my son and yet I think of him like a stranger. I can trust him, I know I can." _

"Okay, fine, but please don't tell your father," she pleaded, getting a quick nod from her son, "...I've been spending the past few years getting to know Naruto-kun in secret. I don't want Fugaku to know."

"Why? Naruto is just a boy," Itachi questioned, even though he had a good guess as to why his father would, it's the same reason that women from the orphanage still curses Naruto's name each day while she wallows in her cell.

"Your father is like the council, Souchi-kun, he believes Naruto to be nothing more than a monster. I don't know what he would do if he found Naruto-kun running around this compound." she whispered, looking down at the blonde child who seemed to be confused by all of this. "Souchi-kun, I hate to ask this but-"

"Say no more, Kaa-san," Itachi interrupted, tousling Naruto's hair while walking towards the commotion his father was making in the kitchen, "get Naruto home, I'll deal with my father."

"Thank you, Souchi-kun!" She whispered loud enough for the retreating Itachi to hear, bring a smile to his face. It's been a long, long time since he smiled such a true smile, the years of ANBU service has taken much from him, one being his happiness. So many people he knew died by his own hands to keep the secrets and stability of Konoha safe and sound, it is too much for a young man of his age to take at once. _"It's my fault," _Itachi drearily thought, _"I was the one who accepted their invitation to become an ANBU, it must live with my choice." _

**Naruto's Apartment: **

"I can't believe I'm doing this," She whispered, looking back on it all as she slowly slides down to the floor, her back resting on the front door of Naruto's cramped apartment. What was she doing? She had a family that she needed to focus on and look at what she was doing, running around, trying to protect a boy that she is technically using for her own selfish reasons.

But was it selfish to ask for something like this? Was it wrong to wish for that motherly feeling at least once in her life? The day her children learned to walk they were out of her warm embrace and into Fugaku's harsh grasp, they barely even looked at her as a mother, more like a doormat that gave them food and did the laundry.

But today did bring a few notions of hers to rest, Itachi wasn't completely heartless. That really wasn't a fair assessment of her own son, being a ANBU captain does take a lot out of you, and he did snuggle up to her more than Sasuke seemed to at the age of 5.

"You don't want to be around me anymore, do you?" Naruto whispered, seeing the distress on Mikoto's pretty face, "It's okay, I understand," his depressed, almost whimpering voice shocked Mikoto. She had never heard such dark tones come from her little fox, he's always been so chipper and excitable, not an ounce of pain shown through, but I guess she just didn't want to see it really.

Could she blame him? He's been an orphan most of his life, abused through half of it, and one of the only people who even looks at him like a human being is running around like she is embarrassed to even be seen with him. So, the question really isn't why, but rather, why not. Why would he not be in pain? Why would he not be sad?

"N-Naruto-kun," Mikoto whispered, her hand covering her quivering lips, "I would ne-"

"I'm sorry, Mikoto-chan," he sniffled, "I-If I wasn't around you so much you wouldn't have to run around and lie to your family. I don't want to cause you any more trouble."

"You're not, Naruto-kun, it's okay." She said, trying to comfort and console such a small and broken child, but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.

"No it's not, nothing I do is okay," His voice was now quivering, holding back his bitter disdain for himself, even as a child he knows what he is. He is a nuisance, a menace, he doesn't belong and he is dragging Mikoto with him. "I'm sorry I am such a burden."

"Don't you dare say that, Naruto-kun!" She yelled definitely, snapping Naruto from his depressed stupor, he had never heard her yell like that, her voice seemed so coarse and it held a certain sadness that reminded him of his own. "You are not a burden; you mean…..a lot to me, Naruto-kun. In these few short years, I have grown a fondness for you that I thought was only reserved for one's own child. I don't think I can bare seeing you like this anymore, so please, promise me you will never act like this again! Please,"

He couldn't believe it, Mikoto, a woman he has come to love and respect for the past few short years actually saw him with the same fondness as her own children!? He actually had someone who was willing to see past his outer shell and into who he truly was, a child who wanted nothing more than to be accepted and to be loved, he couldn't be happier!

"I promise, Kaa-san!" He yelled happily, rushing the kneeling Uchiha and wrapping his hands around her waist, even though his arms were too tiny to encompass her, he held firm to make sure she knew he meant it.

Those simple words pushed Mikoto's emotions over the edge, even though it didn't need much. She couldn't help but feel an immense tug on her heart once she heard his cute little voice refer to him as his mother. She threw caution to the wind and wrapped the little blond up in a great big hug and squeezed him for all its worth while a tiny tear ran down her cheek.

"Thank you,...Sochi-kun, thank you." She whispered, gently raking her fingers through his blonde hair while she placed a single kiss on his forehead. So much has happened in so little time, after just a few hours of stepping past Konoha's gates, Naruto has already brought Mikoto and himself to the brink.

After hearing Mikoto's plea, something seemed to lock in Naruto's mind. His self loathing was causing her pain, he didn't know why nor could he comprehend it, but he couldn't allow it to continue. So, he promised himself that he wouldn't allow his low self esteem and crippling depression stand any longer.

He would stride for nothing more than complete optimism, something that Mikoto seemed to have, or at least that's what it seemed to the 5 year old. He no longer wanted to dwell so much on his own problems, especially in the presence of Mikoto, or hell, any of his few precious people, they never deserved it!

On that day, Naruto declared to himself that he will bury his self loathing deep down inside and become a symbol of happiness for all he would call his friends.

Speaking of friends, Mikoto still had doubts about what she is doing but honestly, she doesn't care, not the healthiest outlook on her family and well being, but for some reason she couldn't deny Naruto's one simple unspoken wish. To be accepted, so, if that means she must put herself on the line for it, she will do it without fail!

After they had their little moment, Mikoto decided to make Naruto a quick little dinner before she left him alone once again, it always struck her wrong to leave a 5 year old all alone in this dark apartment.

So, after whipping up what she could from the small rations she was able to find in the kitchen, Naruto and her sat down to a nice bowl of Donburi (a rice dish that usually have a form of topping over it), with oyakodon (chicken and egg). She would have loved to get fancy with it but there wasn't much to work with, it was rice, plain chicken, eggs, or a mountain of cupped ramen, so she decided to give the boy a proper meal other than that pre-packaged garbage.

"So, Naruto-kun," she started, still slightly uneasy about calling him Sochi, she just needed some time to get used to it is all, "what else happened on your little trip?"

"Well, nothing much, but I did have this weird dream!" He said through large gulps of food that went down his developing guilt, Mikoto's cooking was second only to Ichiraku's but it was still top notch.

"A dream? What type of dream?" She asked, slightly intrigued by it, dreams are always a good conversation piece.

"...It's gonna sound weird but….." he trailed off, rubbing the back of his head nervously while he tried to recall this odd vision, "I was in my hotel room, being dragged towards a pale white man with fancy robes, his ropes had snakes shooting out from them. He kept laughing, it was creepy, and the closer I got the harder it was for me to see. Everything was going black, I was so scared…...and that's all I can remember. Everything else was a blur."

"A pale white man, hmmm? Well, you know, some people say dreams can be your subconscious trying to tell you something." She explained, remembering a few things her mother said about dreams. "Many people believe that our dreams can, in fact, tell the future. Heck, some people even spend their whole lives trying to decode it."

"Really? I don't know, the dream felt so real, like I could reach out my hand and touch it. My fear felt so real too, Kaa-san," he explained, looking down at the palm of his hands. Even though the power of the Curse mark was too much for his small, underdeveloped brain, it still retained a few instances, but he has written it off as nothing more than the odd dreams of an imaginative 5 year old.

"You shouldn't feel too bad about it, Naruto-kun, Sasuke has had many of nights filled with odd dreams." She explained, trying to make the boy feel like he wasn't the only one who had weird dreams.

"Humph, Sasuke-teme probably has dreams of being a total butt face!" Naruto yelled immaturity, poking at his food while he starts to ponder on the stuck up Uchiha.

"Naruto-kun!, Sasuke might not be the…..most affectionate person you have ever meet but he is still my son," Mikoto defined, even though, deep down, she knew were Naruto was coming from. The few times Sasuke and Naruto have ever meet, normally ended in a "who could yell the loudest" contest with both of them inches from the others face.

They seemed to get along as well as chicken and coyotes, each one trying there damndest to one up the other and yet, even though Naruto saw it as Sasuke being a prick, Mikoto saw through it.

It was Sasuke's way of making a friend, was it flaud? Yes, very much so, actually. But that was the only way he knew how to connect with someone. It is in his blood if you want to get technical, Uchiha's were never the nicest bunch of people to try and get along with, and their unbearable cockiness didn't help.

"B-But, Kaa-san, all he does is call me names and looks down on me. He's just a teme!" Sighed the blonde, he just couldn't see past the stuck up bastards douche outside and into his friendly center, mainly because Sasuke isn't making it fucking easy.

Sasuke is the biggest douche a 5 year old could be and yet he still held a charm to him that could draw Naruto into being his friend if he would meet him halfway, but the prick wants Naruto to do all the freaking work.

Letting out her own sigh, Mikoto looked to the conflicted blonde and said, "My boy may not be quite….easy to get along with but, trust me, he really does want to be your friend, Naruto-kun. He just has a hard time showing it. You can chalk that up to his Uchiha heritage; even our ancestors had trouble making friends."

"Friends?" Naruto asked with a questioning look, if what she says is true then Sasuke is terrible at making friends, "are you sure?"

"Of course I am, I've never seen Sasuke-kun act that way around anyone other than you. Not even his own brother, he really wants to be your friend." Mikoto reassured him, Sasuke truly did want a friend. Most Uchiha children were rather intimidated by his status as the Clan head's child, the only one undeterred was Shisui, Itachi's long standing friend. Most of the normal children of the Hidden leaf seemed to be intimidated as well; either that or they would try and suck up to him.

But Naruto was different, he wouldn't allow anyone's place in the village intimidate him, he didn't care if you were a diplomat or the damn Hokage, he treated you like an equal and he expected you to do the same. He also didn't follow the same Civilian formula of trying to suck up to him, he again, treated Sasuke like he was just another kid, even going so far as getting in his face when Sasuke would disrespect him.

"Friend huh? Well, he has a crappy way of showing it," he huffed, getting a cute giggle from his supposed, "Kaa-san".

"Yes, he does, Naruto-kun. But, I was hoping that you and Sasuke-kun could be great friends in the future." she explained, catching Naruto's attention, "so, please, could you try and be there for Sasuke-kun, for me?"

And that's all she wrote, once Naruto heard that line he gave in. He couldn't deny his crush one thing, especially if she added, "for me?" at the end, it was his own personal trigger word. Some men might fall for the puppy dog eyes, other for brute force, but all Naruto needed was to know that Mikoto really wanted him to do this, and he would put 100% effort behind it!

"Fine, I'll try my best, Kaa-san!" He exclaimed he really did love Mikoto; it was something about her that just made him happy. After a few minutes of idle chit chat the two finished their dinner and Mikoto was about to head out, only to be stopped by one of Naruto's requests.

"Kaa-san?" he asked, getting her attention, "before you go, can I see your special eyes. You know, the ones that are red, they always look so cool on you!"

She couldn't help but smile at his attitude towards her Sharingans and gave him what he desired. She knelt down to be eye level with the 5 year old, closed her eyes only to reveal her three tomoe Sharingan.

5 years ago, on this very day no less, Mikoto awoken her Sharingan, a feat that many believe she could never accomplish. There are few Uchiha's that are born without the ability to awaken their rightful bloodline, which many believed Mikoto was one of them. But, one day, out of the blue, her eyes began to blur. She believed it was nothing, maybe a little light headedness from being 9 months pregnant, so, she continued on her way like it was any other day. Two days later, her water broke in the kitchen while she was making Itachi and her husband's their usual breakfast.

One single push, that's all it took, the last painful grunt, escaped her lips after hours and hours of painful labor was the final hurdle she had to climb to gain her one tomoe Sharingan.

She decided to keep it a secret, it really wasn't anyone's business, and besides, they didn't care about her when she didn't have their "precious" Sharingan, why would she want them to care now? It would be a hollow, superficial intrigue at best. She even decided to keep this secret from her own family, training in the art of the Sharingan deep within the forest that surrounded the Village, far from prying eyes.

"Now Naruto-kun, you remember our little deal, right?" she asked, deactivating her kekkei genkai, "you can't tell anyone about my special eyes. If you do, I will have to go away, forever."

"I haven't, Kaa-san, I haven't told a soul," he said, shaking his head with gusto, getting a smile from his surrogate mother, "...but why would you have to go away? Your eyes are pretty!"

"Well, you see Naruto-kun, an Uchiha who can activate his/her Sharingan are forced into becoming a shinobi of the leaf. If one doesn't, well, it is a very punishable offence, one in which the Uchiha council does not take lightly." She tried to explain as easy as possible for such a small boy. He wouldn't be able to comprehend the ins and outs of the Uchiha political system but the basics should be enough for him to keep his mouth shut.

The Uchiha's take their Kekkei Genkai very seriously, same with their status of being the strongest clan in existence.

No Uchiha who wields a Sharingan in the history of the clan has ever lived as a civilian. At birth, every Uchiha are told legends of the great Uchiha's before them, and how strong and brave they were going up against the corrupt and the impure.

One of the many stories told is the story of the deceiver. An Uchiha who "selfishly" asked for a simple civilian life, unwilling to put their heart and body on the line to keep the Uchiha's image up; so, they did what they needed too, to keep the lineage of the Uchiha the pure warrior clan it wants to be, they killed the deceiver.

If she truly came out and showed her Sharingan, she would never be left to her own devices, unable to stay as a "simple" housewife. She would be forced into the ninja ranks, unable to watch over her home or family. The only thing she has ever wanted, taken from her just because of her heritage.

If she tried to fight to keep her dynamic in the village, she would be persecuted and soon enough, executed.

After she finished giving him the down played version, she looked at the confused Uzumaki and asked, "do you understand now, Naruto-kun?"

"I-I think," he said, rubbing his adolescent temples at the vast amount of info he has to absorb, "so, if I tell anyone about your special eyes, you could go away forever. right?"

She scratched the back of her head in a playful manner, slightly irked that her detailed description was broken down into such a black and white statement, "I guess so, yeah." she sighed, only to smile once more and bring the boy into a loving hug, "now remember, this is our little secret, okay?"

"Of course, I'll keep this secret to my grave. That's a promise, and I never go back on my word!" He proclaimed, nuzzling his head into her stomach, seeing as that is the extent to his height.

She giggled once more at his proclamation and said, "I know you will my little fox. I love you," before lifting his head so she could plant a small, chaste kiss on his forehead, "and don't you ever forget that."

"I won't, Kaa-san, I love you too!" He declared one last time before Mikoto left, leaving the 5 year old giddy and excited. This was the greatest day of his young life! He had finally, finally gotten someone who truly loves him, sure, it was a motherly love but to him, it was pure gold. This, coupled with the new friend from Suna and his already growing feelings with his grandfather figure, seemed like his life was looking up for him.

**Next Day: Sunagakure, Kazekage's Office: **

"Send him in," the Fourth stated with a gruff tone, he was just told his pre-planned meeting with the new ambassador was about to begin and the guest of honor had just arrived. The door opened to reveal the familiar face of the Otokage, except for a patch that was placed on his cheek. It was nothing major, just a square patch with a medical gaze like texture, held there by surgical tape; it was Orochimaru's way of fixing his mask. The skin could not have been duplicated, at least not without his lab, and he could only do so much in a hotel room with the supplies he was given.

"Ambassador, what's that on your face?" the Fourth questioned, pointing out his obvious patch job.

Orochimaru knew he needed to keep his facial expression to a minimum, if he doesn't, he runs the risk of ripping the skin even more. So, he gave a small smile and said, "Oh, you mean this old thing?" he asked, gesturing to his patch, "a….unwelcomed guest decided to give me a parting gift last night."

"A guest? Were you attacked, was it someone in my ranks?" The Kazekage questioned, only to hear the Ambassador coo lightly.

"Please, Kazekage-sama, calm yourself. It was no one in your ranks," he stated with a friendly disposition as he takes a seat in front of the leader of Suna, "taking over Rice country as made me and the Otokage a large target for many people who still believe in the old ways of said village. One must have followed me here, trying to finish what many had started. But don't worry, I'm fine, really."

Sighing in relief, the Fourth Kazekage slouched back into his chair and took in a deep breath. He didn't need another problem on top of the others that seemed to be mounting higher and higher each day.

He and the Hokage's talk did not go the way he planned or even hoped. He asked, no, BEGGED the Hokage to consider giving Suna extra treatment, or at least that's how the Hokage saw it. The Fourth asked for help, but for some reason, that old senile bastard believed he wanted Konoha to focus solely on them, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

He knew Konoha needed a continuing flow of imports and exports to keep their economy afloat, something Suna could not do at this time. But, he also knew Konoha had enough resources and funding to spare, seeing as the Fire Daimyo seemed to favor the Leaf over the Sand.

"Now then, I've been thinking over your proposal, or really lack thereof," The Fourth explained, adopting a professional yet bored expression, "and even though we need financial help, I am afraid we cannot take your offer. There is just too much of a risk."

"Otokage thought you would say that," The Ambassador stated, his smile never leaving his face, "I had sent him a message through our summoning system and he informed me of the promise he wishes for you to fulfill at a later date. Do you wish to know it before we continue?"

"Yes, I would." he stated firmly, preparing for the statement.

"Now, before I start, I want you to open your mind. I want you to truly think about this before you answer," he said, getting a slow nod from the Fourth, "he wants your help in his invasion of Konoha."

"Are you insane?!" The Fourth boasted no one was that suicidal. Konoha is a main village for a reason, their security is tight, there Shinobi's are the top of the line, and they hold some of the strongest clans known to the Elemental Nation. "Does your leader have a death wish? He may have the men to spare but my village is on the brink as it is, I cannot risk it."

"Do not take my leader as a fool, Kazekage-sama," Orochimaru hissed bitterly, technically trying to defend his own ludicrous plan, "he knows the power Konoha holds, but even the strongest villages can crumble with enough manpower and a proper plan."

"Oh, and what is this "proper plan", are you going to try and storm the castle, so to speak?" The Fourth mocked, annoyed at the Ambassador's ignorance to the truth. No village in their right mind would even try this, Iwa was still licking its wounds from the last great ninja war, Kumo is already in hot water with the leaf after they tried, and failed, to steal a Hyuga right from under them, and Kirigakure is already dealing with its own civil war.

So, this fool of a leader from a no-nothing village believes that he and the already weakened Suna can take down Konoha? He is a fool, no matter what his Ambassador says.

"No, he was thinking along the lines of the "Trojan Horse" approach," Orochimaru smirked, gaining the attention of the still skeptical Fourth, "in a few years, the Chunin Exam will be held in Konoha, that's when we strike."

"And how is that a good plan? Villages from all across the Elemental Nations will be converging in this village, some even allies to the Leaf." he argued.

"My village has a way to…..knock out, any competition that may present itself. And besides, many of the teams other villages will send will probably die during the exam." The Ambassador pointed out, "Also, what allies do Konoha have, really? Kumo are unwelcome near the border of Konoha, Iwa still hates them for being the final nail in their coffin during the war, and Kiri has never shown interest in becoming allies with the Leaf. Any of Konoha's allies are small, insignificant villages that probably don't have any worthwhile Shinobi's. We have the advantage; all we need is you, the only village who has ties to Konoha."

The Fourth was at a loss for words, this plan, no matter how crazy it may seem, actually sounded doable. But his main question was would he do it? Could he really attack Konoha, a place that has helped him when no other village did? Sure, Konoha isn't the best and the Hokage did mistake his plea for more help as a pathetic attempt at favoritism, but was that enough to go to war over?

But there was something else he had to take into consideration before he answered his village. No matter how nice or generous Konoha has been over the years, was their generosity going to sustain his village? And besides, what about that bastard Fire Daimyo, he was the reason this was going to happen, he is the reason the Fourth even has to consider this option as a possibility.

Who would blame him for doing this? He is doing what is right for his people; Konoha would do the same, wouldn't they? _"Yes," _he assured himself, raising from his seat and turning to peer out onto his village, _"they would have done the same, they would have destroyed and plundered my village to save their own. It is what a village leader must do to protect their village, it comes with the territory. A Kage must carry the burden of an entire village, and I must do what has to be done for my people." _

"Tell your Kage that…...He's got a deal, I will back him in his invasion of Konoha."

**2 years later: **

"Happy Birthday, Naruto-kun, I'm sorry it took me so long but…..I'm here now!" Exclaimed an excited but very apologetic Mikoto Uchiha. It was five days after Naruto's true birthday and yet she still wanted to at least throw him a proper birthday party.

For the past two years the Uchiha branch has started to become more introverted with its information and people. Few Uchiha's were allowed to leave the compound, let alone Konoha's borders. Something big was going down and Mikoto was being left out of the big picture, which wasn't surprising, seeing as they still don't know about her fully mature Sharingan.

Unbenounced to Mikoto, the Uchiha have began their self-righteous plans for a coup d'etat on the Konoha people, they wish to finally show all of the leaf that the Uchiha are the strongest clan who deserves the title of Hokage that was rightfully stolen from their people by those damned Senju's. Most of their children and a few of their women were left out of the information loop, simply because if they failed, they still had a few people who could deny their involvement and continue the legacy of the Uchiha. Mikoto and Sasuke were two of those few.

"its okay, Kaa-san, I know you were busy! I'm just glad you're here," The 7 year old Naruto assured, hugging the loving Uchiha with all his might. The 2 years after Naruto's trip to Suna and his surprise mutation was rather uneventful, except for the massive amount of quality time he has spent with Mikoto and a blossoming friendship with Sasuke.

Even though he still refers to Sasuke as "Sasuke-teme", the word that once held malice was now a greeting. Naruto was still jealous of his life; the family Naruto as always wanted was in the hands of a boy who seemed to never want it. But, pushing onward for Mikoto, Naruto has actually been able to find something respectable and rather fun in Sasuke. They both wanted to become strong, something that blossomed a competition between the two over the past 2 years.

They even started to spar against one another, playful spars, but spars nonetheless. They are tied, 20 to 20, and today was supposed to be the tie breaker. Or it would be if the Uchiha district wasn't shut down for the past 5 days, which was the only reason Mikoto was late for her precious little fox's birthday.

"So, Naruto-kun, how was your birthday? Sorry again that I missed it," Mikoto asked, preparing Naruto's birthday dish while he sits at the table. She wanted to make something special, so she decided to stop by a organic market before arriving and bought some quality ingredients, meat's, herbs and spices, pasta, the works.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're here now," Naruto assured her, messing the with salt and pepper shakers that were placed before him, "anyway, my birthday was great. I spent most of it with Jiji, he taught me how to play this game called chess. He said he picked it up from a wandering merchant and he loves it. I'm terrible at it, but I know I can get better."

"That's the spirit, Naruto-kun." Mikoto encouraged, flashing a smile in Naruto's direction, "with that mindset, you can't lose."

"You really think so?" he questioned.

"Of course," Mikoto stated, putting the pot on the eye and turning the dial to a simmer, "you'll never be great at everything, but as long as you keep trying, you're bound to get better every time."

After their little pep talk, they began to eat Mikoto's take on Ramen. She wasn't quite as good as the people down at Naruto's favorite ramen stand, but she knew it was far better than the high in preservative garbage Naruto usual eats. It always saddens her to see Naruto's pantries so empty, his fridge almost barren, and his stove barely touched.

He can't cook for himself and the only thing that's cheap enough for him to get is Instant Ramen, sure he likes it, but that's not a healthy diet for a growing boy, he might stunt his growth with his poor eating habits.

So, for the past two years she has snuck away from her husband almost every night to bring any leftovers she had "accidentally" made. She would normally make a huge batch of food, far too much for her family to eat all in one sitting, and then take it over to Naruto once everyone had retired to the living room.

"Alright, Naruto-kun," Mikoto stated, slurping up the final noodle, "It's present time!"

Oh boy, whatcha get me? huh, huh, huh!?" Naruto asked with gusto, jumping from his spot near the table. He was so excited, he was only expecting one present this year and now, knowing he was getting another made him jump for joy. His first and only present was from the Hokage, he gave Naruto a portable chess case. It was pocket size, a very small piece of entertainment but it has given Naruto hours of fun. The pocket sized strategy game came with a pamphlet on some of the best moves in the game and how to counter them; it will definitely help Naruto's chances in the future when he's up against the master of chess, Sarutobi.

Mikoto went to go grab her decorated present but was shocked to find out she had left it back at the compound. She started to get nervous; could she even get back into the compound to get his present? It took some bribes and ass kissing to actually get her out in the first place. If she even tried to go and get the present she might not make it back.

She didn't want to just leave Naruto waiting for her if she got caught, but she also didn't want to raise his hopes just to dash them.

"_Naruto-kun wouldn't mind not having his present right away, right?" _She thought to herself, nibbling on her fingernail in thought, _"Yeah, Naruto-kun will understand, I know he will." _

"Ummm, Naruto-kun," she said hesitantly, brushing a loose strand of hair from her view. "Here's the thing, I kinda….sorta, forgot your present." Before she was able to finish, she saw the sway of emotion ripple across the boy's face. His smile faded and the twinkle in his eyes seemed to dull, it wasn't a pretty sight for Mikoto; it pulled her heart strings so harshly that her heart skipped a beat.

"O-Oh, that's cool Kaa-chan." Naruto said, slapping back on his trademark smile to try and fool his mother figure into believing he was alright with it all. And in all honesty, he wasn't too bummed, he wasn't really hoping for a gift to begin with and he doesn't care too much that she forgot it, she has had a busy week he supposed.

But the slight shift in Naruto's mood really resonated poorly with Mikoto, she hated that she brought Naruto down, even if it was just a little bit.

She decided it wouldn't be _too _bad to run through the Uchiha Compound and pick up the present. Her husband was stuck in another meeting while her eldest son was off doing something for the ANBU, the only person there was Sasuke, and Naruto would probably be happy to see him. So, making up her mind, she stood up and scooped the little boy into her arms.

"No, no it's not cool, Naruto-kun," Mikoto stated firmly, smiling down at the boy while she opens the door to reveal the night sky, "You and I are going to go get your present personally, no if, ands, or buts. Ya got me?"

"Yes ma'am!" He said with a smirk.

"That's my boy,"

**Uchiha Compound: **

There was blood everywhere, gallons of it was splattered across the compound walls. Each step she took she came across an Uchiha corpse of men, women, and even children, all slaughtered like sheep. That was the vision both Mikoto and Naruto arrived to see, a complete horror show of discarded corpses and copious amounts of blood.

It was unnerving, more to Mikoto than Naruto, to him it was just sickening. Mikoto, taking her first tentative steps into her home, couldn't help but feel her heart begin to race and her mind start to wonder. Was her family okay? Were her two boys' alright? She couldn't take the suspense!

She placed Naruto outside her house and ordered him to stay, even though he was quite adamant about going with her. He didn't want to wait in the darkness, surrounded by these corpses, he was far too scared to stand out here without someone to keep him company, but Mikoto was adamant of Naruto staying outside while she searched her home.

After a few minutes of argument, she had worn Naruto down enough for him to agree to wait there for her.

Her home seemed almost untouched, nothing was out of position, and everything seemed so…..peaceful and quiet, a little too quiet. Her mind began to play tricks on her, flashes of her children's smiling faces soon dashed by blood, the features contorting into pain and horror.

She pictured her husband, the strongest of their clan, bent over her children, pleading for them to be spared; only to be cut down like the others.

Once she was snapped from her own thoughts, she realized she was standing in her living room; a room that was also now covered in blood. Her husband, Fugaku's body was on the table he sat in front of, his head completely severed from his body. Even though she couldn't spot her eldest son lying around anywhere, she did spot her youngest, face first on the floor while his body trembled every so often.

"Oh thank goodness!" She yelled, rushing to her son's side, "you're alive, thank god you're alive." Her voice was filled with joy and relief, all of the terrible thoughts taking a back seat to this wonderful revelation. But, like most things in life, that moment was not to last.

"He will live, I made sure of it," A voice rung out through the darkness, catching the grieving mother's attention, she turned to find her son, garmented in his usual ANBU outfit, standing in the doorway, "he will be out for a few days but nothing more. He should make a full recovery."

"S-Sochi-kun, what are you talking….." but soon the pieces began to fall together. The bloody tanto tightly gripped in his right hand, the blood splatter on his gray armor, the tear stains that still clung to his pale features. "Itachi…..what have you done?"

"What I had to, mother." He said coldly, a final stray tear breaking through his stoic features as he slowly trekked towards the women that gave him life, "for the good of Konoha…..and for the good of….." His words were choked back, he couldn't finish. If he was going to follow through with the order he was given, he couldn't look her in the eyes. Those beautiful brown eyes that used to hold all the comfort he and his brother needed, and now, he was tasked the job of dulling those eyes, permanently.

He just bowed his head and grasped his tanto with both hands; a stream now pouring from his eyes as he slowly raised the blade high above his head and was ready to deliver the final blow. His farewell slice was soon interrupted by a small body colliding into the back of his thigh, knocking his balance off enough to bring him to one knee.

He looked behind him to find a mess of blonde hair and teary blue orbs staring up at him, "please mister, don't take Mikoto-chan away from me!" The boy yelled, his grip on Itachi's thigh tightening too surprising degrees.

"N-Naruto-san, what are yo-" Itachi was about to say, only for his mother to interrupt.

"Naruto-kun, run! Get out of here right now!" she barked, her eyes widening in fear, fear of the unknown. _"Would he do it? Would he really kill Naruto-kun?" _ She thought, holding Sasuke to her chest while her heart started to pound like a set of drums,

"No, I won't let him hurt you!" Naruto yelled back, this time taking on a more offensive tactic by chomping down on Itachi's leg, breaking through his pant leg and his skin. Once his strong canines sink into Itachi's thigh meat, Itachi hissed in pain before delivering a swift hit with the end of his Tanto onto the crown of Naruto's skull.

The 7 year old was sent reeling, all he could see was stars as his head and ears began to ring but his teeth did not let up, continuing to ravage the skin and muscles of Itachi's thigh.

Another wave of pain shot through Itachi's nerves like a bullet down the barrel of the gun, he had faced worse, sure, but the pure virtuosity and unbelievable depth the child's teeth have gotten was hitting Itachi in the most painful way.

"_What should I do?" _ He thought, trying to shake the boy's teeth from his thigh which was harder than it sounded, _"I cannot kill him, the Hokage would have my head. My mission was to slaughter Uchiha's only. I must dispose of Naruto in a non-lethal manner." _

Once he had finally figured out his plan, he grabbed the blonde by his hair and pulled up, detaching Naruto's sunken teeth from his now bleeding leg and tossed him to the side. Itachi was soon standing over the downed Naruto, watching the boy slowly try and get back to an upright position.

Naruto wasn't looking too hot, his lips and teeth were practically bleached in Itachi's blood, a few bits of his hair was ripped out or tasseled around in odd angles, and his body seemed to be unresponsive. The worst of it all was the nice little red bruise that was forming around the crown of his head.

With a cold stare, Itachi delivered a jaw jacking punch to Naruto after he was able to get to his knees, sending him back down to the cold, hard wooden floor. Mikoto couldn't help but gasp at the utter brutality being shown by Itachi, his cold disposition was utterly out of place from the warm hearted young man Mikoto remembers him being just months ago.

"Stay down; I don't want to hurt you." Itachi whispered, his knee digging into Naruto's spine while he holds Naruto's head into the wooden floor, "...I'm sorry, Naruto-san." Were the final words before Naruto felt the weight lifted off of him and Itachi's slow, methodical footsteps could be heard walking towards Mikoto.

"_K-Kaa-chan, no!" _ Naruto hissed sadly in his mind, trying countless times to rise from his position, only to fall back onto the floor, forced to witness his beloved Mikoto-chan die in front of him, _"I have to…..d-do something!" _

"Sochi-kun, why! Why are you doing this?" Mikoto questioned, cradling Sasuke's unmoving coma induced body in her arms while stealing glances at Naruto's groaning, unmoving body, "we are your family!"

"I've lied to Sasuke, and yet, for some reason, I can't lie to you." He stated sadly, his Tanto hanging limply in his grip, "I will give you one last wish before I…...I must do what has to be done. The Uchiha's were planning a Coup, a foolish attack on Konoha to take over this village so they could become the elites they truly believed themselves to be. I, being an ANBU, was forced by my own code to tell the Hokage. I was given a mission, to eradicate every living Uchiha."

"...And Sasuke-kun, what will happen to him?" She asked after minutes of silence, Itachi wanted to allow his mother one last moment of clarity before he had to do what was right for the people of Konoha.

"Don't worry; I was able to secure Sasuke's future." Itachi stated calmly, even though his emotions and heart were anything but, "I wanted to do the same for you but…..they said more than one Uchiha was far too risky, especially an adult."

"What will happen to you after this is all said and done? I don't believe they would let a man who has killed his own ken go scot free," she said with a morbid smile, almost laughing at it all. She had lost everything in the span of a few hours and she has barely had any time to comprehend it all.

All she could do now was try and understand it with the few minutes she has left with the three men that mean more than anything in her life, Sasuke, Itachi, and Naruto.

"I will become a missing-nin and join a newly formed group named the Akatsuki to keep Konoha safe by leaking their information to the Hokage." Itachi answered, looking down at his father's corpse, recollecting his final words. Surprisingly, his father wasn't mad or even outraged at his betrayal, even though it cause him and his ken their lives, he actually commended and respected Itachi for his decision, taking his fate with dignity and grace. "Sasuke is placed under my Tsukuyomi to believe that I slaughter our clan to test my power and that I only spared him because he was too little a challenge. His future will be filled with nothing but his unquenchable hatred for me and the inevitable revenge he will seek. But, as long as his hatred is focused on me, he will be blind to the fact that the village is the true cause of his clan's slaughter. I will carry that burden."

"...Even though I do not agree with your methods, I…...I can't say anything other than I love you, Sochi-kun," she said, placing Sasuke gently to the side before turning to her remaining son with a smile on her face, "I will meet death with a smile on my face. But I must ask something of you before I go."

"What is it, mother?" He said, walking in range of his Tanto and reading his stance.

"Please, take care of Sasuke and Naruto."

"Hai, I will make this quick and painless." and with a quick flick of his wrist, Itachi sliced through his mother's neck, severing her spine and jugular, giving her the quick death she deserved…..or at least, that's what he thought.

He opened his eyes to catch a glimpse of the true creature he had sliced through with his swing; it was an aged, grey skinned Naruto with a now, fully awakened Mangekyou Sharingan in one eye with a Rinnegan in the other. The blade had sliced through Naruto's mid-section, cutting several important organs that housed in his middle region. His face was frozen in a permanent state of pain and satisfaction, he had saved his mother and yet this unbearable pain was shooting through him at an uncontrollable rate.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Mikoto's fragile voice escaped her lips once she opened her eyes to reveal the gutted Naruto; everything seemed to be going in slow motion. Naruto fell backwards, into her open lap; his head resting on her right thigh while his body drops to the floor were his blood begins to pool.

"...NARUTO-KUN!"

**Thank you all for reading, please review and PM me if you have any questions. **


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